Dick Dreissigacker

Dick Dreissigacker
Personal information
Full nameRichard Alan Dreissigacker
BornMarch 26, 1947 (1947-03-26) (age 77)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma materBrown University
Stanford University
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportRowing

Richard Alan Dreissigacker (born March 26, 1947, in New Haven, Connecticut) is a former American Olympic rower[1] and a founder of Concept2, a manufacturer of rowing equipment.[2] While studying engineering at Brown University he took up rowing and went on to represent the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Dreissigacker earned a Master of Science degree in 1974 from Stanford University, where he coached rowing and introduced his brother Pete to the sport. While training for the 1976 US Olympic team the brothers modified their oars with carbon fibre. After failing to be selected they started selling oars and started the company that is now Concept2.[2]

His wife Julia "Judy" Geer was a rower in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics,[3] and his sister-in-law Charlotte "Carlie" Geer won a silver medal in single sculls in the 1984 Olympics.[4] His daughters, Hannah Dreissigacker and Emily Dreissigacker, competed as biathletes in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics respectively.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dick Dreissigacker". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "The Erg to Compete: Peter and Dick Dreissigacker, who wanted to row all winter, invented a machine that goes nowhere fast". Stanford University Alumni Magazine. January 2007.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Judy Geer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Carlie Geer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hannah Dreissigacker". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  6. ^ Williams, Doug (January 22, 2014). "In Olympic Family, Hannah Dreissigacker Takes Her Own Course". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on January 25, 2014.
  7. ^ Gardiner, Andy (February 12, 2018). "Vermont Olympian Emily Dreissigacker: 'More About The Process, Less About The Result'". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved February 26, 2018.