Alois Bierl was a member of the coxed fours crew that won West Germany’s only rowing gold medal at the 1972 München Olympics. In between the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, the crew, known as “Bullenvierer” (Bull’s fours), won the 1969 and 1971 European Championships, and the 1970 World Championships. Consequently, they were awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, the highest sports award in Germany. Bierl also won a bronze medal at the 1973 Europeans in the coxless pairs, and ten West German national titles. By profession, he became an engineer at the chemical company BASF.
West Germany