Frank Schepke

Frank Schepke (5 April 1935 – 4 April 2017) was a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Frank Schepke

Personal information
Born	(1935-04-05)5 April 1935 Königsberg, Germany
Died	4 April 2017(2017-04-04) (aged 81) Kiel, Germany
Height	198 cm (6 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight	95 kg (209 lb)[1]
Relatives	Kraft Schepke (brother)
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Club	ATV Ditmarsia Kiel[1]
Medal record Men's rowing Olympic Games Representing  Germany 1960 Rome Eight European Rowing Championships Representing  West Germany 1959 Mâcon Eight 1961 Prague Coxed four

He was born in Königsberg, Germany, in 1935. Kraft Schepke (born 1934) was his brother.[1]

At the 1959 European Rowing Championships in Mâcon, he won a gold medal with the eight.[2] At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he was a crew member of the German eight that won gold.[1] At the 1961 European Rowing Championships in Prague, he won a gold medal with the coxed four.[3] He was twice—in 1959 and in 1960—awarded the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest West German sports award.[1][4]

Both he and his brother retired after the 1961 rowing season from competitive rowing.[1] In the same year, he finished his PhD at the University of Kiel in agricultural sciences.[4] He worked as a consultant for farmers, and later in life founded an industrial cleaning company. Aged 55, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of owning his own farm, and he produced biologically grown produce.[4]

He stood in the 1965 West German federal election in the Stormarn – Herzogtum Lauenburg electorate for the National Democratic Party of Germany, a far-right and ultranationalist party founded the previous year. He left the party in 1969. At the 2009 and 2013 German federal elections, he stood as an independent in the Plön – Neumünster electorate.[4] Schepke was the initiator in 2004 behind a regional currency KannWas for Schleswig-Holstein.[5]

Schepke died on 4 April 2017 in Kiel.[6]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Frank Schepke". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
2. Heckert, Karlheinz. "Rudern – Europameisterschaften (Herren – Achter)" (in German). Sport Komplett. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
3. Heckert, Karlheinz. "Rudern – Europameisterschaften (Herren – Vierer m.Stm.)" (in German). Sport Komplett. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
4. "Frank Schepke: Der Olympiasieger erfüllte sich den Traum vom Biohof". Holsteinischer Courier (in German). 26 April 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
5. "Einladung zur 2. Gesell-Tagung am 10. Oktober 2015 in Kiel" (PDF) (in German). Verein Regionalgeld Schleswig-Holstein e.V. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
6. "Dr. Frank Schepke". Lübecker Nachrichten. Retrieved 29 December 2017.