She graduated with a diploma in physical education from the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur (DHfK) in Leipzig in 1981.

She was thus responsible for preparing the sculls team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, USA.

Classification earlier in the year determined that Kathrin Boron was the strongest sculler, followed by Jana Thieme, Katrin Rutschow, and Kerstin Köppen.

Germany's national rowing organisation (Deutscher Ruderverband) nominated Meike Evers for the single, and Thieme and Manuela Lutze, and for the quad the team recommended by Lau.

By Lau's best assessment, had her suggested teams been accepted, all three boats would probably have won medals.