Ernst Helmut Berndt (17 June 1915 – 30 April 1990) was a Sudeten German-

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

athlete who competed in both

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

and luge. As a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

he represented Czechoslovakia at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Berndt was born in Liberec in June 1915. He moved to

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and took up luge. Competing for

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, he became the German national champion in 1958 before winning the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1960 FIL World Luge Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He died in

Seesen Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. west of Goslar. History The Saxon settlement of ''Sehusa'' was first mentioned i ...

in April 1990 at the age of 74.

References

1915 births 1990 deaths Czechoslovak male hurdlers German male lugers West German male lugers Olympic athletes for Czechoslovakia Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics German Bohemian people Sudeten German people Sportspeople from Liberec Sportspeople from Lower Saxony {{Germany-luge-bio-stub