Wendel Suckow (born April 11, 1967 in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...

) is an American

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

r who competed during the 1990s. He is best known for the being the first American to ever win a gold medal in luge either at the Winter Olympics or the World Championships when he was the surprise winner of the 1993 championships in Calgary, Alberta,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Suckow along with fellow

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

and future Olympic medalist

Chris Thorpe Christopher Thorpe (born October 29, 1970 in Waukegan, Illinois) is an American luger who competed from 1989 to 2002. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the men's doubles event with a silver in 1998 and a bronze in 2 ...

, first experienced luge on a small hometown track that (later relocated to nearby Negaunee, Michigan) remains the only full-length natural track luge facility in the United States. Competing in three Winter Olympics, Suckow's best finish was fifth in the men's singles at

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Suckow retired from luge after the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

and went to work for Team Worldwide, a

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

firm, as an account manager in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He later worked as an account manager for The Terminal Corporation, a logistics firm located in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, but is no longer in that position as of 2008.

References

External links

1992 luge men's singles results

Hickok sports information on World champions in luge and skeleton.
1967 births American male lugers Living people Lugers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Baltimore Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Sportspeople from Michigan Olympic lugers of the United States {{US-luge-bio-stub