Lutz Altepost (born October 6, 1981, in

Emsdetten Emsdetten (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Detten'') is a town in the Steinfurt (district), district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Emsdetten is situated on the river Ems (river), Ems, approx. south-east of Rhe ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

) is a German

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in two

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, he won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Career

At the 1999 Junior World Championships in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia, he won two gold medals with Germany's four-man K-4 crew (K-4 500 m and K-4 1000 m). As a senior, he has established himself among the elite K-1 500 m paddlers in international competitions but has yet to win an individual gold medal. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

he finished sixteenth at the

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. The following

year A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...

in Gainesville, USA, he took the bronze medal. At the Athens Olympics in 2004 he came seventh. At the

2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Zagreb, Croatia, in August 2005. Men race as individuals, pairs and quads over 200m, 500m and 1000m in both Canoe (Canadian) (C) and Kayak (K) events, giving a total of 18 gold medals. W ...

he won the silver medal. After the Athens Olympics Altepost was chosen to lead Germany's revamped K4 boat. In their debut season together the new four won the K-4 1000 m world championship final in Zagreb ahead of reigning champions

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

giving Altepost his first gold medal as a senior. In 2006, Altepost enjoyed mixed fortunes at the 2006 World Championships. In the individual K-1 500 m, he achieved a medal placing for the third consecutive year, this time winning the bronze medal. In the team kayak events however Altepost's K-4 crew were unable to repeat their Zagreb success and surprisingly failed to make the podium in any of the three race distances though they did win the K-4 1000 m event at the 2007 championships.

Personal life

He is tall and weighs .

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altepost, Lutz 1981 births Living people People from Emsdetten Sportspeople from Münster (region) Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics German male canoeists Olympic canoeists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics 21st-century German sportsmen