Klaus-Dieter Ludwig

Personal information
Born	2 January 1943 Züllichau,Germany
Died	18 May 2016(2016-05-18) (aged 73)
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight	55 kg (121 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Medal record Men'srowing Representing East Germany Olympic Games 1980 Moscow Eight 1972 Munich Coxed four Friendship Games 1984 Moscow Eight World Rowing Championships 1966 Bled Coxed four 1975 Nottingham Eight 1979 Bled Eight 1981 Munich Coxed four 1970 St. Catharines Coxed pair 1982 Lucerne Eight European Rowing Championships 1973 Moscow Coxed four

Klaus-Dieter Ludwig, known asLucky in rowing circles^[1] (2 January 1943 – 18 May 2016), was a Germancoxswain who competed forEast Germany in the1972 Summer Olympics and in the1980 Summer Olympics. He had a long rowing career and competed on the international stage for 19 seasons, retiring aged 41.

He was born in 1943 inZüllichau, at the time located in Germany but since the end of World War II part of Poland.^[2] He started rowing in 1958 at age 15 but after two or three years, he became a coxswain instead. At 170 cm, he was tall for a cox but he suppressed hunger by heavy smoking to keep his weight at 55 kg, the minimum weight for that role. He competed for theSG Dynamo Potsdam /Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo.^[1]

Ludwig's first international race was at the1966 World Rowing Championships inBled where he won gold with the coxed four.^[1]

In 1972 he coxed the East German boat that won the gold medal in thecoxed four event.^[2] In 1973 he won a silver medal at theEuropean Rowing Championships inMoscow.^[3] At the 1980 Olympics he won the gold medal with the East German boat in themen's eight competition.^[2] He retired from competitive rowing—aged 41 and after 19 international rowing seasons—after winning silver with the men's eight at the 1984Friendship Games, dubbed the "alternative Olympics".^[1]

Skipping meals, heavy smoking and alcohol consumption took a toll on Ludwig's health. He lived in a care facility since the end of 2015. Shortly before he died on 18 May 2016 he had hisstomach removed.^[1]

• (in German)RRK 08 Rudern – Deutsche Rudererfolge bei Olympia

• Klaus-Dieter Ludwig atWorld Rowing (archive)
• Klaus-Dieter Ludwig atOlympics.com
• Klaus-Dieter Ludwig atOlympedia

• 1943 births
• 2016 deaths
• People from Sulechów
• Sportspeople from the Province of Brandenburg
• Coxswains (rowing)
• Olympic rowers for East Germany
• Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
• Olympic gold medalists for East Germany
• Olympic silver medalists for East Germany
• Olympic medalists in rowing
• East German male rowers
• World Rowing Championships medalists for East Germany
• Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• European Rowing Championships medalists
• Sportspeople from Lubusz Voivodeship

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2017
• Articles with German-language sources (de)