Gelsenkirchen is the 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River, it lies at the centre of the Ruhr area, the largest urban area of Germany, of which it is the fifth-largest city after Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg and Bochum. The Ruhr is located in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, the second-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union. Gelsenkirchen is the fifth-largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, Bochum, Bielefeld and Münster, and it is one of the southernmost cities in the Low German dialect area. The city is home to the football club Schalke 04, which is named after Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. The club's current stadium Veltins-Arena, however, is located in Gelsenkirchen-Erle.
Matija Ljubek was a Croatian sprint canoeist who competed in the 1970s and 1980s and later became a sports official.
Andreas Dittmer is a German sprint canoeist. The dominant sprint canoeist of his generation in 1000 m races, he has won three Olympic and eight world championship gold medals.
Björn Bach is a German canoe sprinter who competed from 1997 to 2006. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won two silver medals in the K-4 1000 m.
Aleksandr Viktorovich Kostoglod is a Soviet-born, Russian sprint canoeist who has competed since the early 1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won three medals, with two silvers and one bronze. Kostoglod is a six-time world champion gold medallist in the Canadian canoe (C) events.
Tomasz Wylenzek is a German sprint canoeist who has competed since the early 2000s.
Kay Bluhm is an East German-German canoe sprinter who competed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won three golds, one silver, and one bronze.
Mark Zabel is a German sprint canoeist and Surfski Champion. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won three medals in the K-4 1000 m event with one gold (1996) and two silvers.
Horst Köppel is a German football manager and former player who last worked as manager for FC Ingolstadt 04 in 2009.
Rüdiger Helm was an East German sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won six medals which included three golds and three bronzes.
Martin Hollstein is a German sprint canoer and Olympic champion. He has been competing since the late 2000s, mostly in kayak single, double or four.
Aleksandr Yurievich Vinogradov is a retired Soviet sprint canoeist. He competed in doubles at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and won two gold medals in 1976. He also won five medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with three golds, one silver (C-2 500 m: 1979, and one bronze. He trained at VSS Vodnik and coached by his father Yuriy Vinogradov.
André Gerhard Wohllebe was an East German-German sprint canoeist who competed from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won three medals with a gold and two bronzes. He was born in Berlin.
Joachim Mattern is an East German sprint canoeist who competed in the 1970s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won two medals at Montreal in 1976 with a gold in the K-2 500 m and silver in the K-2 1000 m events.
Bernd Olbricht is an East German sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won four medals with two golds, one silver, and one bronze.
Bernd Duvigneau is an East German sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won two medals in the K-4 1000 m event with a gold in 1980 and a bronze in 1976.
Frank-Peter Bischof is an East German canoe sprinter who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at Montreal in 1976.
Anke Ohde is an East German canoe sprinter who competed in the mid-1970s. She won five gold medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with two in the K-1 500 m, one in the K-2 500 m (1974), and two in the K-4 500 m events. In 1976, she was displaced by fellow SC Neubrandenburg club member Carola Zirzow in the K-1. The Olympic nomination for the K-2 went to the world champions, Bärbel Köster and Zirzow. Ohde thus went to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal as a canoeing reserve and did not compete. Ohde finished her active career after the Montreal Olympics.
Marcus Gross is a German canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s.
Ulrich Freese is a German politician. Born in Hünxe, North Rhine-Westphalia, he represents the SPD. Ulrich Freese has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Brandenburg from 2013 to 2021.
