Horst Hörnlein (also known as Horst Hömlein, born 31 May 1945 in Möhrenbach) is a former

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r and

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

coach who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and

Reinhard Bredow Reinhard Bredow (also known as Reinhard Bredlow, born 6 April 1947 in Ilsenburg) is an East German former luger who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and Horst Hörnlein won the gold medal in the men's doubles event (shared with th ...

won the gold medal in the men's doubles event (shared with the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

Paul Hildgartner Paul Hildgartner (born 8 June 1952 in Chienes) is an Italian former luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals (Men's doubles: 1972, Men's singles: 1984) and one silver ...

and

Walter Plaikner Walter Plaikner (born 24 October 1951 in Kiens, South Tyrol) is an Italian former luger and coach of Austrian descent who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a doubles specialist, and competed alongside Paul Hildgartner. They won t ...

) at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

. Hörnlein also won five medals in the men's doubles event at the

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natural ...

with one gold (

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

), one silver (

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

), and three bronzes (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

). He won four medals at the

FIL European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federa ...

with three golds (Men's singles:

, Men's doubles:

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

) and one bronze (Men's singles: 1970). After his retirement from competition, he became a bobsleigh coach, training the East German team from 1973 to 1990, and later coaching the British and Irish teams. He also served as head of the

International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and skeleton (sport), Skeleton. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Sw ...

's bobsleigh development programme, working with bobsledders from developing countries.

References

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SportQuick.com information on Hörnlein
1945 births Living people People from Ilm-Kreis Free German Youth members German male lugers Lugers from Thuringia Lugers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in luge Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor East German sports coaches Sportspeople from Bezirk Suhl Olympic lugers for East Germany East German male lugers {{Germany-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub