Klaus Bittner

Klaus Bittner rowed with the Ratzeburger Ruderclub in the eights at both the 1960 and the 1964 Olympics, winning gold in 1960 and silver in 1964. Bittner started his rowing career at ATV Ditmarsia Kiel and in 1959 won German and European Championships, with the crew subsequently elected West German Team of the Year.

In 1960 Bittner claimed West German titles with Germania Düsseldorf 04 in the eights, the coxed fours, and the coxless fours, and the eights crew was elected West German Team of the Year. The crew was known as the “Ratzeburg” crew, even though their members came from both the Ratzeburg and Ditmarsia Kiel clubs, and their prowess was attributed partially to their new oar design. They won the first non-US gold in the eights since 1900.

In 1961 Bittner again rowed with Kiel and won the West Germans coxed fours, also winning at the Europeans. With the coxless fours from Ratzeburg he claimed another European title in 1963. In 1964 he rowed with Ratzeburger RC again in the eights and won German and European titles in addition to his Olympic silver. Bittner was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf in 1960. He worked first as a school teacher in Bad Segeberg and later in Esslingen near Stuttgart.