Luge world cup Oberhof 2016 by Stepro IMG 6490 LR5

Josef Fendt (born 6 October 1947 in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

) is the immediate past president of the

Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course The International Luge Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in 195 ...

(FIL), having served from 1994 to 2020. He was a

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 who competed from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Competing in two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, he won the silver medal in the men's singles event at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. Fendt also won two gold medals in the men's singles 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 ...

, earning them in

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 ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. Additionally, he won a silver medal in the men's singles event at the 1973 FIL European Luge Championships in

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. After his retirement from competitive luge, Fendt got active in the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German language, German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nat ...

(FIL), being named Vice-President Sport for Artificial Track in 1985, a position he stayed at until the death of FIL's first president

Bert Isatitsch Bert Isatitsch (September 14, 1911 – February 8, 1994) was an Austrian educator who later became the first president of the International Luge Federation (FIL), serving from its 1957 establishment until his 1994 death. Education career Born i ...

in February 1994. Fendt was appointed acting president of the FIL as a result, then elected full president in June of that year. He served until his 2020 retirement. Fendt's sister,

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

, won the silver medal in the women's singles event at the 1978 FIL World Luge Championships in

Imst Imst (; Southern Bavarian: ''Imscht'') is a town in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. It lies on the River Inn in western Tyrol, some west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of above sea level. With a current population (2018) of 10,504, Imst ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. On Fendt's 61st birthday in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he received the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

''Verdienstkreuz am Bande'' (Cross of the Order of Merit of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

) for his contributions toward society, mainly in luge.

References

FIL-Luge profile on Fendt.
- accessed October 7, 2008. * * ttp://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020223004127/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/olluge.shtml Hickoksports.com results on Olympic champions in luge and skeleton.* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fendt, Josef 1947 births Living people German male lugers Lugers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Olympic lugers for West Germany West German male lugers Olympic silver medalists for West Germany Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Olympic medalists in luge Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Lugers from Berchtesgaden