Josef "Sepp" Lenz (8 February 1935 – 3 May 2023) 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 ...

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 in the 1960s. He won the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1962 FIL European Luge championships in Weissenbach, Austria.

Biography

Lenz was born 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 ...

on 8 February 1935. He was selected for the men's singles event at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

, but was severely injured at the

track in

Igls 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 ...

and did not compete as a result. Lenz later became a luge

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, being involved in the early career of Austria's Markus Prock. In 1966 he became coach of the German national team, a position he held until 1995. Under his leadership the national team won 31 gold, 31 silver and 34 bronze medals at the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships. Lugers who he guided to success included double World Champion and future

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 ...

President

Josef Fendt Josef Fendt (born 6 October 1947 in Berchtesgaden) is the immediate past president of the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL), having served from 1994 to 2020. He was a West German-German luger who competed from the mid ...

, 1984 Winter Olympic doubles champions Hans Stangassinger and Franz Wembacher, and triple Olympic champion

Georg Hackl Georg Hackl (; born 9 September 1966), often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as ''Hackl-Schorsch'' or as the ''Speeding Weißwurst'', a reference to what h ...

. Along with his father, he also constructed a naturally refrigerated luge track on the banks of the

, the forerunner to the present artificial Königssee track. He subsequently designed other tracks, including the

Utah Olympic Park Track The Utah Olympic Park Track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton (sport), skeleton track in the United States, located in the Utah Olympic Park near Park City, Utah, Park City, Utah. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in nearby Salt Lake City, the tr ...

, and acted as a consultant for the

Alpensia Sliding Centre The Olympic Sliding Centre () is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton (sport), skeleton track that is located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang County, Pyeongchang, South Korea. The centre is located between the Alpensia and Yongpy ...

. In December 1993, Lenz lost his left leg below the knee when he did not get out of the way of an American luger while clearing off the ice at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in

Winterberg Winterberg (; Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle ...

, Germany. Lenz returned to coach the German team at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

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 munici ...

two months later. Lenz died on 3 May 2023, at the age of 88.

References

CNN/SI article featuring Lenz at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
*Wallenchinsky, David. (1984). "Men's Singles Luge". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 1896-1980''. New York: Penguin Books. p. 575. 1935 births 2023 deaths German male lugers Lugers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Olympic lugers for the United Team of Germany German sports coaches People from Berchtesgadener Land Lugers from Upper Bavaria West German male lugers West German sports coaches Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Germany-luge-bio-stub