Paul Lange

Paul Lange was a bricklayer by profession. In 1960 at Roma he won Olympic gold in the K-1 4x500m relay, which was held for the only time at these Olympics, together with Dieter Krause and Günter Perleberg who both came from East Germany, and the West German Friedhelm Wentzke. This was the only gold medal won by a truly unified Olympic team of the then separate two German states.

Even before the Olympics Paul Lange was K-1 4x500m relay World Champion (with Meinrad Miltenberger, Fritz Briel, and the non-Olympian Helmut Herz) and third in the K-2 500m (with Miltenberger) at the 1958 championships. In the 4x500m relay, Lange also won European titles in 1959 and 1961 and a silver medal at the 1957 European Championships. Lange was German champion in K-1 500m in 1958 and 1960. He ended his active career in 1963 and died at the age of 85 after a long and serious illness.