Rower Ralf Brudel won the gold medal with the East German coxless fours at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After re-unification, he moved for a short stint to Austria, but came back to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Games with the re-unified Germany coxless fours and won the silver medal.
At World Championships, Brudel won two coxless fours gold medals (1987, 1989) and two bronze medals (1986, 1990). He also won two silver medals (1981, 1982) with the eights. Nationally, he won 13 East German titles. By profession, he became a car salesman with Mercedes in Berlin.