Meinhard Nehmer (born 13 January 1941 in Boblin near Pölitz,

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

) is a former East German

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 three golds (Two-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 ...

, Four-man: 1976,

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 ...

) and one bronze (Two-man: 1980). Nehmer also carried the East German flag during the opening ceremonies of the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

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 ...

. He also won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with one gold (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 ...

), two silvers (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 ...

, Four-man:

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 ...

), and one bronze (Four-man: 1978). Nehmer grew up on Rügen, the son of a farmer. Prior to his role in

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 ...

, Nehmer competed in athletics as a javelin thrower, with a personal best of 81.5 m. After retiring from javelin competition at the age of 30, he was recruited into bobsleigh by coach Horst Hörnlein at the relatively advanced age of 32, although Nehmer initially believed that taking up a new sport at that age would not be worthwhile. At the time of his first Olympic success in 1976, he had only been bobsledding for three years. Retiring from bobsleigh in the early 1980s, Nehmer worked for the Volksmarine, rising to the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

(Fregattenkapitän in ), before being forced out following

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in late 1990. After that, Nehmer worked as a bobsleigh coach: he coached the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 1991 and 1993, taking them to the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

and leading them to their first bobsleigh medal at the FIBT World Championships for 24 years in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and an overall Bobsleigh World Cup title for Brian Shimer's crew. He then served as Italian national coach from 1993 to 2000, before being appointed as assistant coach to his former brakeman Raimund Bethge as part of the German national team, helping Christoph Langen and André Lange to their Olympic victories. He retired from coaching after the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, returning to farm on Rügen. In July 2016, he was inducted into Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.

References

Bobsleigh two-man Olympic medalists 1932–56 and since 1964

Bobsleigh four-man Olympic medalists for 1924, 1932–56, and since 1964

*

External links

* * 1941 births Living people People from Police County Sportspeople from the Province of Pomerania Sportspeople from West Pomeranian Voivodeship German male javelin throwers East German male javelin throwers German male bobsledders Bobsledders at the 1976 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 1980 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany Olympic bobsledders for East Germany East German male bobsledders Olympic medalists in bobsleigh Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit National People's Army sportspeople Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics German sports coaches {{Germany-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub