Joseph "Josef" or "Sepp" Benz (20 May 1944 – 5 February 2021) was a Swiss

bobsled 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 Bobs ...

der who competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. 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 four medals with one gold (Two-man:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

), two silvers (Four-man:

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 ...

, 1980), and one bronze (Two-man: 1976).

Career

Benz, who was born in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, won eight medals at the

FIBT World Championships The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since FIBT World Championships 1930, 1930. Starting with 2002, no Wo ...

with three golds (Two-man:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

; Four-man:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

), two silvers (Four-man:

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, 1978), and three bronzes (Two-man:

, Four-man: 1979, 1981). In 2008, he was named chairman of the Sport Commission for artificial track

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 ...

for 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). Benz also was a postal clerk in his native

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He served as chairman of the FIL Youth Commission before serving as chairman of the Sport Commission from 2008 to 2014. During his tenure in Artificial track, Benz created the team relay event that was first held at the 2008 world championships and became an event at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Death

Benz died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on 5 February 2021, at age 76, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland The COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Switzerland on 25 February 20 ...

.FIL trauert um ehemaliges Exekutivmitglied Josef Benz

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929091333/http://sports123.com/bob/mw-2.html Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931
Bobsleigh four-man world championship medalists since 1930
*

- accessed 27 June 2008. * ttps://www.fil-luge.org/en/news/fil-mourns-former-executive-board-member-josef-benz FIL-Luge listing of Benz's 5 February 2021 death.- accessed 6 February 2021
IBSF listing of Benz's 5 February 2021 death.
- accessed 6 February 2021. * * 1944 births 2021 deaths Bobsledders from Zurich Swiss male bobsledders Swiss referees and umpires Olympic bobsledders for Switzerland Olympic medalists in bobsleigh Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland Bobsledders at the 1976 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 1980 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland 20th-century Swiss sportsmen {{Switzerland-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub