| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 1963–1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Wolfgang Gunkel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Petra Boesler (niece) Martina Boesler (niece) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Berliner TSC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Renate Boesler, also referred to as Bösler and later as Gunkel, is a retired East German rower who won medals at European championships between 1963 and 1971. During that time, she became European Champion four times in two different boat classes.
At the 1963 European Rowing Championships in Moscow, she won a silver medal in the coxed quad sculls event with a team from Berliner TSC. [1] [2] At the 1964 European Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, she won a gold medal in the same boat class but with different team members apart from Antje Thiess; this time the rowers came from several clubs. [3] Since women's rowing had formally become a part of the European Rowing Championships in 1954, this was only the second time that East Germany had won this boat class (the previous occasion had been in 1960), with all other titles having gone to the Soviet Union. [1] The team remained in the same composition for the 1965 rowing season and at the annual regatta for Eastern Bloc countries held at the Grünau Regatta Course, the coxed quad scull team beat the boat from the Soviet Union by two lengths. [4] All East German teams stayed away from the 1965 European Rowing Championships held in Duisburg, West Germany. [5]
At the 1967 European Rowing Championships in Vichy, Boesler competed with the women's eight and won a silver medal. [6] At the 1968 European Rowing Championships in East Berlin, Boesler won a gold medal with the women's eight. [6] At the 1969 European Rowing Championships in Klagenfurt, the East German women's eight competed with its success and retained their European Championship title. [6] The 1970 European Rowing Championships were held in Tata, Hungary, and the East German women's eight became European Champion for the third year running. [6] At the 1971 European Rowing Championships in Copenhagen, Boesler was again part of the women's eight and this time, the team won a silver medal. [6] [7] Throughout her rowing career, she started for the Berliner TSC. [8] She retired after the 1972 rowing season and was celebrated alongside other retiring international rowers in May 1973. [9]
In December 1963, Boesler was given the honorary award Master of Sport alongside her four team mates from Berliner TSC. [2] Three of the rowers of the women's eight who won European gold in 1968 and 1969 were awarded the Medal of Merit of the GDR in January 1970: Boesler, Ursula Pankraths, and Renate Schlenzig. [10] In September 1970, six rowers of women's eight were awarded a Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze for winning three consecutive world championship titles since 1968: Gudrun Apelt, Barbara Behrend, Marita Berndt, Gabriele Rotermund, Renate Schlenzig, and Boesler. [11]
Boesler is the aunt of sisters Petra and Martina Boesler. Both her nieces have won Olympic rowing medals. [12] [13] Some time between August 1971 and May 1973, Boesler married fellow international rower Wolfgang Gunkel. [9] [14]
Wolfgang Gunkel was an East German rower who mostly competed in coxed pairs together with Jörg Lucke. In this event he won the European title in 1971, the Olympic gold medal in 1972, and the world title in 1975. His crew placed fourth at the 1968 Olympics. Gunkel won another world title in the men's eight in 1977. In February 1978, he was given the sports awards Honoured Master of Sports.
Hartmut Wenzel was a German coxswain. He defected from East Germany during his rowing career in 1971, later winning Olympic bronze for West Germany.
Brigitte Amm is a retired East German rower who won one gold and four silver medals at European championships between 1961 and 1966.
Rosemarie Lorenz is a retired East German rower. Under her maiden name, she won a silver and a gold medal in the eight event at the European championships of 1967 and 1968, respectively. Under her married name, she won a gold in the eight event at the 1969 European Rowing Championships in Klagenfurt.
Christof Kreuziger is a German rower. He won gold medals for East Germany at the 1973 European Rowing Championships and the 1974 World Rowing Championships in double scull, and at the 1975 World Rowing Championships in quad scull.
Günther Zumkeller is a German rower who represented West Germany.
The 1961 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Vltava (Moldau) in the Czechoslovakian capital Prague. The event for women was held from 18 to 20 August, and 9 countries competed with 32 boats. The event for men was held from 24 to 27 August, and 20 countries entered boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and just three countries entered boats in all classes: the hosts Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and a combined German team. Women entered in five boat classes. The regatta was held in five lanes, with rowers proceeding in the direction of the river's flow.
The 1962 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Langer See in the East Berlin suburb of Grünau in East Germany; the venue had previously been used for the 1936 Summer Olympics. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was for women only and was held from 17 to 19 August. Eleven countries contested five boat classes. Men would three weeks later meet in Lucerne for the inaugural World Rowing Championships.
The 1964 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Bosbaan regatta course in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Women competed from 31 July to 2 August. Men competed the following week from 6 to 9 August. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and women entered in five boat classes. Many of the men competed two months later at the Olympic Games in Tokyo; women would first be allowed to compete at Olympic level in 1976.
The 1965 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Wedau regatta course in the West German city of Duisburg. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was held from 20 to 22 August for women, and from 26 to 29 August for men. Women entered in five boat classes, and 12 countries sent 36 boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and 22 countries sent 89 boats. East German crews did not attend the championships.
The 1966 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Bosbaan in the Dutch city of Amsterdam; the venue had previously been used for the 1954 and 1964 European Rowing Championships. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was for women only and was held from 26 to 28 August. Thirteen countries contested five boat classes, and 39 teams were competing. Two weeks later, men would meet in Bled, Yugoslavia, at the second edition of the World Rowing Championships.
The 1967 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Allier, a reservoir in the Allier River adjacent to the French city of Vichy. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was held from 1 to 3 September for women, and from 7 to 10 September for men. Women entered in five boat classes, and 14 countries sent 40 boats. For the first time, a women's team from outside Europe attended the championships, with the USA sending two boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and 24 or 25 countries sent 113 boats. Three non-European countries sent some (male) rowers: the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
The 1968 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Grünau Regatta Course in the East Berlin suburb of Grünau. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was for women only and was held from 16 to 18 August. Twelve or fifteen countries contested five boat classes, and 39 teams competed. Despite the European label of the event, it was open to any country and was regarded as unofficial world championships, but all contesting countries in 1968 were from Europe. The men would meet in Mexico City in mid-October at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The 1969 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Wörthersee in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was held from 5 to 7 September for women, and a few days later for men. Women entered in five boat classes, and 15 countries—including the United States—sent 47 boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes. An innovation was that petite finals were held to determine places 7 to 12.
The 1970 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Öreg in Tata, Hungary. There were five competitions for women only ; the events for men were contested two weeks later at the 1970 World Rowing Championships in St. Catharines, Canada, instead. As World Rowing Championships were still held at four-year intervals at the time, the European Rowing Championships were open to nations outside of Europe and had become to be regarded as quasi-world championships.
The 1960 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Welsh Harp Reservoir in the London suburb of Willesden in England. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was for women only and was held from 12 to 14 August. Twelve countries contested five boat classes. Men would compete later that month in Italy for the 1960 Summer Olympics.
The 1963 European Rowing Championships for men were rowing championships held on Lake Bagsværd near the Danish capital Copenhagen; the competition for women was held the following month in Moscow. The regatta in Copenhagen was held from 14 to 18 August.
The 1964 European Rowing Championships for women were rowing championships held on the Khimki Reservoir, which is part of the Moscow Canal, in Khimki near Moscow in the Soviet Union. The competition for men had been held the previous month in Copenhagen. The regatta in Khimki was held from 6 to 8 September. Five boat classes were contested. Eleven countries nominated a total of 33 boats for the regatta, which was held over 1,000 metres. Five lanes were available and this meant that in three boat classes, there was only the final: W2x, W4+, and W8+.
The 1955 European Rowing Championships for men were rowing championships held in the Belgian city of Ghent. The venue was the Watersportbaan, which was built for these championships and was part of Belgium's preparation for their bid to host the 1960 Summer Olympics. The competition for women had been held earlier in the month in Bucharest. The event in Ghent was held from 25 to 28 August and they competed in all seven Olympic boat classes. Some 400 competitors from 21 countries competed.
Barbara Müller, is a rower who represented East Germany in the 1960s. She was later a rowing coach for SG Dynamo Potsdam.
