Thomas Zereske

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Thomas Zereske
Medal record
Men's canoe sprint
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1997 Dartmouth C-2 200 m
Gold medal – first place 1998 Szeged C-2 200 m
Silver medal – second place 1990 Poznań C-1 500 m
Silver medal – second place 1995 Duisburg C-1 200 m
Silver medal – second place 1995 Duisburg C-2 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Poznań C-1 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Paris C-4 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Dartmouth C-2 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Szeged C-2 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Milan C-2 200 m

Thomas Zereske (22 May 1966 – 28 June 2004)[1] is a German, originally East German, former sprint canoeist who competed from 1988 to 2000.[1][2]

Sporting career[edit]

Zereske won ten medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with two gold medals (C-2 200 m: 1997, 1998), three silver medals (C-1 200 m: 1995, C-1 500 m: 1990, C-2 200 m: 1990), and five bronze medals (C-1 1000 m: 1990, C-2 200 m: 1999, C-2 500 m: 1997, 1998; C-4 500 m: 1991).[2]

Competing in three Summer Olympics, Zereske earned his best finish of fifth place three times (C-1 500 m: 1996 for Germany, C-2 500 m: 1988 for East Germany, 2000 for Germany).[1]

As the German national championships, Zereske won two C-1 200 m, three C-2 200 m, and four C-4 200 m titles.[3] He also won national championship in C-1 500 m three times and C-1 10000 m once.[4] Zereske earned a German national championship in the C-2 500 m event in 1997.[5]

Coaching career[edit]

After Zereske retired from canoeing, he became a coach of the German Dragon Boat racing national team.[6] As a coach, his teams won a complete set of medals in 2002 with a gold in the women's 500 m, a silver in the men's 500 m, and a bronze in the men's 250 m; and two silver medals in 2003.[6] The 2003 silvers were in the men's 500 m and women's 500 m events.[6]

Death[edit]

A native of Neubrandenburg,[1] Zereske died of leukemia in 2004.[7] Zereske had only been diagnosed with leukemia five days prior to his death.[6] His former canoeing partner Christian Gille wore a black armband in honor of Zereske during the 2004 Summer Olympic sprint canoeing events.[8] After Gille and his current teammate won the gold in the C-2 1000 m event at those games, Gille dedicated the medal to his fallen teammate.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Sports-reference.com profile. Retrieved on January 1, 2009.
  2. ^ a b ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships - Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936-2007 Archived 2010-01-05 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ German sprint canoe national champions: 1995-2003.(in German) - accessed January 2, 2009.
  4. ^ German national champions in C-1: 1919-2003.(in German) - accessed January 2, 2009.
  5. ^ German national champions in C-2: 1919-2003.(in German) - accessed January 2, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d German Wikipedia article on Zereske. (in German) - accessed January 2, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Sportsinteractive.net August 27, 2004 results on the previous day's canoe sprint (then flatwater racing) final mentioning Zereske Archived May 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on January 1, 2009.
  8. ^ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Pairs 1000 Meters." In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 484.
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