Sprint canoeist finished an unfortunate fourth in the K1-1000 with the mixed German team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. At Mexico City in 1968, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the K4, while representing West Germany. In 1963 he won a bronze medal in the K2-10K with non-Olympian Siegfried Brzoska, again representing West Germany. Both also won the West German nationals in this event from 1961-64, and Suhrbier won with the K4-10K four times consecutively from 1965-68.
