Kurt Jarasinski had only one Olympic appearance, in 1964 at Tokyo. He won a gold medal with the mixed German show jumping team and finished eighth in the individual competition. In 1960 he had won the Deutsche Springderby in Hamburg, one of the world’s most respected events for show jumpers. In 1964, he was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, the highest German sports award.
In 1967, Jarasinski was named as the Japanese national equestrian coach for the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, based on the recommendation of his mentor, Fritz Thiedemann. However, Thiedemann soon withdrew his support when it was apparent that Jarasinski could no longer perform his job due to alcohol abuse, and he lost his coaching duties after the München Olympics. His friends Sönke Sönksen and Alwin Schockemöhle then supported him, paying his dues and helping him to lead a normal life, but he was unable to overcome his alcoholism and died in 2005 from its effects.
Germany
West Germany