Frank Schepke
Personal information
Born(1935-04-05)5 April 1935
Königsberg, Germany
Died4 April 2017(2017-04-04) (aged 81)
Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight95 kg (209 lb)[1]
RelativesKraft Schepke (brother)
Sport
SportRowing
ClubATV Ditmarsia Kiel[1]
Medal record
Men's rowing
Olympic Games
Representing  Germany
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Eight
European Rowing Championships
Representing  West Germany
Gold medal – first place 1959 Mâcon Eight
Gold medal – first place 1961 Prague Coxed four

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.

He was born in Königsberg, Germany, in 1935. Kraft Schepke (1934–2023) 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. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d "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.
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