JURGEN GROBLER AWARDED HONORARY OBE

6 May 2006: Jürgen Grobler, chief coach to the GB men’s rowing squad, has been awarded an honorary OBE. The award recognises his immense contribution to our Olympic success since he began his first coaching job in the UK at Leander in 1991. As part of his role at the Club and then at the ARA, Jürgen has been personal coach to Olympic gold medal winning crews at every Olympic Games between 1992 and 2004.

Jürgen studied Sports Science in Leipzig in the 1960s and became the Head Coach at the German Democratic Republic Rowing Centre in Magdeburg, producing his first gold medal crew at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. He coached the successful GDR crews at the Olympics in 1976, 1980 and 1988, latterly as Head Coach of the women's squad.

On arrival at Leander he took on many British internationals, including Matthew Pinsent and Steven Redgrave in the pair, which he coached to four consecutive World Championship gold medals and two Olympic gold medals in Barcelona and Atlanta. He then took on the men’s four, choosing Tim Foster and James Cracknell to join the crew which became world champions for three successive years in 1997- 99 and, in one of the greatest moments in British sport, won the gold medal in Sydney.

Four years later he completed another cycle by coaching the GB men's four to another historic gold medal when they took the Olympic title by just 0.08 sec ahead of Canada at the Athens Games.

As a foreign national, Jürgen will receive his award from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

“I am deeply honoured and proud to have received this award” he said.

“I am immensely pleased that Jürgen's huge contribution to British Rowing has been recognised in this way”, said GB Performance Director, David Tanner OBE. “He is a very focused, determined and dedicated person and rightly deserves the credit that this honour brings.”

ENDS