Anja Schäfer

Rower Anja Schäfer was a member of the West German coxed eights in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, finishing seventh as the only crew not reaching the final. In 1987 and 1988, she won the German coxed fours national title.

Schäfer learned shipyard construction, after discontinuing her architectural studies, at the renowned Stämpfli shipyard on Lake Zurich in Switzerland. She then became a self-employed master boat builder from 1993, first in Bochum, and since 2001 in Austria. Anja Schäfer lived and ran her own boat construction company in Theresienfeld, on the outskirts of Vienna. She also ran a rowing school on the Danube. In 2016, she moved back to Germany to Berlin. She also became a licensed personal and rowing coach.