Horst Schönau ( German: Horst Schönau , April 2, 1949 , Waltershausen , Thuringia ) is an East German bobsledder , a pilot who played for the German Democratic Republic in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Participant in two winter Olympic games, Lake Placid bronze medalist, world and European champion.
 Horst Schönau | |
|---|---|
 | |
| general information | |
| Citizenship |  Germany |
| Date of Birth | April 2, 1949 (aged 70) |
| Place of Birth | Waltershausen , Thuringia |
| Growth | 180 cm |
| Weight | 82 kg |
| Career | |
| Position | pilot |
| Club | ASK Vorwärts Oberhof |
| Status | completed his career |
| Last updated: January 20, 2012 | |
Biography
Horst Schönau was born on April 2, 1949 in the city of Waltershausen , Thuringia . A sports career began for him in 1965, when he became interested in luge and enrolled in the appropriate section. He competed in single sleighs, at the world championships in 1973 in Oberhof he took eighth place in this discipline. Later he moved to bobsleigh, joined the national team as a pilot, first performed with accelerating Horst Bernhardt , then with Raimund Betge .
Thanks to a series of successful performances, Schönau went to defend the country's honor at the 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck , but could not take prizes there, having arrived in fourth place in fourth, and only in seventh in doubles. But at the 1978 world championship with his four-seater crew he finished first, having received a gold award, while at the European championship he took bronze in fours and gold in twos. The following year, he replenished the medal collection with another bronze from the European Championship.
Together with the team, which also included overclocking Roland Wetzig , Detlef Richter and Andreas Kirchner , he took part in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid , where he won a bronze medal in the four-seater bean program. A year later, he added to the track record a silver award from the World Cup in Cortina d'Ampezzo and silver from the European Championship. No less successful for Schönau was 1982, when he took his bronze medal at the World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and took the second place on the podium at European-level competitions. Shortly after these races, Horst Schönau decided to end his career as a professional athlete, giving way to young German pilots.
Outside the bobsled, Schönau served in the National People's Army , rose to the rank of lieutenant there, and at the same time worked as a trainer in his army sports club Oberhof. After the reunification of Germany in 1990 and the subsequent disbandment of parts, he retired. Subsequently, he was engaged in water management in his hometown of Waltershausen.
Links
- List of World Championship winners on the official FIBT website
- Horst Schönau (English) - Olympic results at sports-reference.com