On the death of Peter-Michael Kolbe: A legend of German sport

The German Rowing Association mourns the loss of Peter-Michael Kolbe, one of its most successful rowers and a legend of German sport. The 70-year-old died on Friday after a serious illness in a nursing home in Lübeck. Kolbe became world champion in the single sculls five times between 1975 and 1986 and won silver three times at the Olympic Games.

Growing up in Hamburg, he got into rowing at an early age, which he learned at Hammerdeicher RV and achieved many successes for his club in his youth. In addition to his professional training as a telecommunications technician, he always found the time for competitive sports and achieved countless successes at national level, mainly in singles. So it was no surprise that he finally won his first world championship title in the men’s single sculls in 1975. This achievement was rewarded in the same year with the award for Sportsman of the Year, an honor that no other individual rower apart from him had ever received.

In the years that followed, Kolbe knew how to balance his private life and competitive sports. But PMK was also successful in oar boats. To a certain extent, he incorporated this effort into his one-on-one training. In 1974 he won bronze in the 4+ at the World Championships (with Johann Färber, among others). In 1978 he became German champion in the 8+ and in 1979 in the 4-.

To Norway for love

He moved to Norway for love, came back again and began further training in Hamburg, before moving permanently to Oslo in 1982 with his Norwegian wife and son.

Despite his emigration, he remained loyal to the DRV and continued to compete for Germany in the single sculls. Four more world championship titles followed in this boat class in 1978, 1981, 1983 and 1986.

Legendäre Duelle mit Karppinen

Of course, he also competed in “his” boat class at the Olympic Games. In 1976 and 1984 he had to admit defeat to the Finnish Pertti Karppinen in the final, and in 1980 he was prevented from taking part due to the Olympic boycott. After the Finn’s resignation, the rowing fans of the Federal Republic saw their hero’s hour had come, but another German star rose in the rowing sky. Thomas Lange won the final for the GDR in Seoul in 1988 and Peter-Michael Kolbe was once again left with “only” the silver medal. Three Olympic participations with three silver medals – a more than remarkable success that was unfairly overshadowed by the stigma of being the “eternal second”.

Controversial discussions about doping were sparked in 1976 by the so-called “Kolbe syringe”, a “vitamin injection” consisting of legal ingredients that Kolbe received before the finals of the Olympic Games to combat symptoms of a cold. When he lost to the still unknown Karppinnen after an initial lead, some saw the reason as the administration of the medication. Not only the responsible sports physicians, but also the World Rowing Federation approved the approval of the drug and confirmed that it was not a prohibited manipulation. Even years later, Kolbe was bothered by the fact that the injection was associated with his name and doping.

DRV sports director for four years

In the spring of 1989, Peter-Michael Kolbe ended his competitive sports career, accompanied for many years by Jürgen Hülse, a real Hamburg native like PMK itself. As an athlete, he was known as a critical spirit who sometimes avoided discussions with the association’s officials but also lonesome, following one’s own path. In 1990 he switched sides and worked as sports director of the German Rowing Association until 1994. This period saw the reunification of the two German rowing associations and the merging of two different competitive sports systems – a difficult time in which he not only made friends with some controversial decisions, but which, in his view, were absolutely necessary and supported the merger of both associations. The result of the 1992 Olympic Games made it clear.

After the end of his first marriage, Kolbe returned permanently to Germany in 2005 and initially lived in Hamburg. He married his former national teammate Karin Kaschke in 2011 and moved to Lübeck with her.

In 2016, after many other awards, Peter-Michael Kolbe received a very special honor. He was inducted into the “German Sports Hall of Fame” alongside Karl Adam, Dr. Thomas Lange, Gustav Schäfer and Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Lenk only four other rowers found a place.

Had an accident on the bike

In Lübeck, Peter Michael Kolbe naturally found a new rowing home at the Lübeck Rowing Club, which he was happy to use. But he also often got into the boat at the canoe club nearby! The German Sports Aid Foundation gave him a good racing bike, which he increasingly swapped for a single and canoe. Unfortunately, he was hit by a car on one of his tours through Lübeck and taken to hospital with serious injuries. Despite the caring support of a rowing friend, he never recovered from this.

Due to illness, Peter-Michael Kolbe spent the last years of his life very withdrawn in Lübeck, where he died at the age of 70.

We remember Peter-Michael Kolbe as a somewhat stubborn Hanseatic with a dry sense of humor, his own will and a lifelong love of boats, and we remember him with great appreciation. We will not forget him.