Jürgen Eschert

Sprint canoeist Jürgen Eschert from Magdeburg in East Germany surprisingly won the gold medal in the C1-1000 at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. One year later he earned a bronze medal at the European Championships.

As a member of the Nationale Volksarmee (National People’s Army), Eschert was once given a tee-shirt displaying a United States’ flag, for which he was immediately expelled from the GDR national team in 1971. In 1975, Eschert was also dismissed, without notice, as a youth trainer for having contact with his former West German competitor Detlef Lewe, contrary to the prohibition for NVA members. Until reunification he worked as a sports teacher and canoe coach, while after reunification he was employed by an insurance company.

Eschert also worked as a sports administrator in Potsdam after reunification. He became president of the Canoe Club Potsdam and organized several canoe events. The annual Dragon Boat Cup (since 1971), the Potsdamer Water Games (since 1997), and Potsdamer Canoe Canal Sprint in the reconstructed section of the Stadtkanal were the result of his initiative.