Manfred Rulffs

Discovered as a talented rower in high school, Manfred Rulffs competed for Ratzeburg. Combined with members from the nearby Kiel (Ditmarsia), he manned three title boats between 1958 and 1960. In 1958, Ruff rowed in the coxless fours that won the European title, and in all he won seven West German national titles.

Ruffs upgraded to the eights in 1959, which won the European title by an overwhelming margin of -circa 50 metres. The same crew won again at the Roma Olympics, after which Rulffs retired to become a high school teacher, but his former coach asked him to assist at the newly founded Rowing Academy in Ratzeburg, and Rulffs later became one of the German national team coaches, a position he held until 1981.

This 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, and were subsequently elected West German Team of Year, as they were in 1959. They were also awarded the Silver Bay Leaf in both 1959 and 1960, the highest German sports award.