row2k received the following note from Kay Worthington, double Olympic gold medalist for Canada:
So sad to report the loss of my former coach, Fred (Fritz) Loek. He originally hailed from Amsterdam, but came to Toronto sometime in the 60's. He died of a massive heart attack at his home on Sunday morning. He was in good shape, having just completed a 200 km bike ride the day before, and he cross country skied in the winters. He had only just retired from his job as head photographer at the Mississauga News in 2013. He was 66.
He coached Danielle and Silken at the Mississauga Don Rowing Club, as well as Heather Hattin and Janice Mason who won the very first Lightweight Women's double sculls event at the World Championship in Copenhagen in 1987.
In 1988, in a strange turn of events, the Canadian womens sculling team consisted of Silken Laumann and I in the 2x and Heather in the 1x, and we all trained under Fritzy at the Don's. We teased him that he was the "force" of Canadian women's sculling; he was the Canadian womens sculling coach for Seoul.
He coached countless thousands of athletes and was a friend and mentor to them all. He was an easy-going, friendly extrovert who loved rowing, posting pictures of the Canadian National Team preparing for the Worlds to his Facebook page just weeks ago.
So sad that he is no longer with us. Here is a link to the announcement of his passing.
I'm sure Rowing Canada will put out a press release which will detail his remarkable accomplishments. Kay
Here is Rowing Canada's release:
Fred Loek, longtime friend of Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) has died. He was 66.
Loek grew up in The Netherlands before immigrating to Canada.
A member of the Don Rowing Club in Mississauga since 1968, Loek was passionate about many things, including rowing and photography.
Loek was a part of the coaching staff that participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1984 and 1988, the Pan American Games in 1987, as well as the 1989 World Championships. He coached and mentored a number of high profile rowers, including Silken Laumann and Rob Marland.
Loek joined The Mississauga News in 1971 and served as the chief photographer for more than three decades before retiring in late 2013.
Peter Cookson, High Performance Director for RCA, and friend of Loek, remembers him fondly.
"He was a longtime friend of RCA," said Cookson. "He had significant influence on many athletes and coaches within our community. His passing is a huge loss to all of us."
Loek died suddenly at his home early Sunday morning. He will be greatly missed.
Details for funeral arrangements are not yet known.