Ralf Berckhan

Ralf Berckhan was a flatwater canoeist, who finished sixth in the C1 over 1,000 metres at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. The same year he won his only West German Championship. As the Allied Troops did not allow German sportsmen to compete in military or paramilitary competitions directly after World War II, modern pentathlon and fencing could only be held in special units such as the police. Berckhan was, however, a policeman by profession and therefore was able to train for the modern pentathlon.

The West German modern pentathlon delegation then won the internal qualification against East Germany and Berckhan was selected for the team to go to the 1960 Rome Olympics. However, the West German team finished a disappointing 16th, while Berckhan was also a disappointing 55th in the individual competition. A year later the German Federation for Modern Pentathlon was founded.