Rutger Stuffken

Rutger Stuffken was the coxswain for the boat of Groningen student rowing club “Aegir”. Stuffken was a student in chemistry and pharmacy, and as a cox he managed to bring his weight down to the minimum allowed weight of 50 kg. This made such an impression at his club that decades later, “Stuffken” was still used as a unit of weight, even though many students had no idea who he was. The Groningen students won the Dutch championships to qualify for the Munich Olympics. In Germany, the boat ranked fourth in their semi-final, and then came third in the B final.

Stuffken later became a pharmacy researcher (obtaining his PhD) and hospital pharmacist. He (co)authored several scientific articles, particularly around medicine use and the relation with hospitalization.