In 1958, diver Rolf Sperling burst onto the international scene by winning the silver medal at the European Championships. From 1958-65, and in 1967-68 he won East German national platform titles, and in 1968 won his only springboard title. In 1962 he claimed a silver medal at the European Championships. On platform he came in fifth in 1960, and seventh in 1964 at the Roma and Tokyo Games. In 1968 he competed for East Germany but failed to qualify for the final. Sperling studied medicine and later worked as a physician in Berlin.
