East German rower Wolfgang Mager earned a gold medal in 1972 in the coxless pairs, accompanied by Siegfried Brietzke. In 1976, both joined with Andreas Decker and Stefan Semmler to win the gold medal in coxless fours. In 1970 he and Brietzke won the Youth World Championships in coxless pairs. In 1973, both claimed the East German nationals, but came in only fourth at the Europeans.
Mager also won World Championships in coxless fours in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979, and in 1978 he added a silver medal. Only three weeks before the 1980 Moscow Games, Mager hurt his hand badly and had to be replaced by Jürgen Thiele. By profession, Mager was a graduate sports teacher.
East Germany