Raimund Bethge (born 7 July 1947 in

Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a ''Große Kreisstadt, Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark (district), Uckermark ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

) is an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

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 in the late 1970s. He took up the sport in 1975. He won a complete set of 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 a gold in 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 ...

), a silver in 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 ...

, and a bronze in four-man (1978). He also took a silver in the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

in 1978 in the four-man event. Bethge also competed at 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 ...

, finishing fourth in the four-man event and seventh in the two-man event. 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 ...

, Bethge was national champion in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

in 1969, and finished fifth in the event at the

1969 European Championships in Athletics The 1969 European Athletics Championships were the ninth European Athletics Championships which were held from 16–21 September 1969 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres an ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He also won East German national titles in the 110 metres hurdles and the indoor

55 metres hurdles 55 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling, usually only run in indoor competitions. This is more commonly run at the high school level. The objective is to approach the first hurdle with 7 steps, each hurdle after that needs to have 3 step inter ...

in 1969 and as part of a successful

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

team in 1970. Bethge was forced to retire from bobsleigh in 1979 following a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

accident. That same year he took up coaching, initially as an assistant club coach at the Oberhof track. He became a trainer for the bobsleigh federation in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, then for unified

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 States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

after East and

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 ...

reunified in 1990. One of the athletes he trained was

Wolfgang Hoppe Wolfgang Hoppe (; born 14 November 1957, Apolda, Thuringia) is a former East German decathlete, bob pilot and 36-time international medal winner who competed from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won s ...

, who would later become a coach for the

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 ...

team. Another would be

Christoph Langen Christoph Langen (born 27 March 1962, in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German bobsledder who competed for the West Germany and Germany national team from 1985 to 2005 (as a pilot from 1991). In his four Winter Olympics, he won four medals ...

, another successful bobsledder who was appointed as coach of the German team in 2010. Bethge was named trainer of the year in Germany in 2006 by the

German Olympic Sports Confederation The German Olympic Sports Confederation (, DOSB) was founded on 20 May 2006 by a merger of the ''Deutscher Sportbund'' (DSB), and the ''Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland'' (NOK) which dates back to 1895, the year it was founded a ...

as a result of his successes that included 80 men's bobsleigh medals overall (

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 ...

, World championship, and European championship), 11 women's bobsleigh medals overall, and 11

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

medals overall. He donated the €10,000 prize money to the

German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (, BSD) is the official federation for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton in Germany. It is the German representative both to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and the International Luge F ...

to fund youth development. He was able to attend 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 ...

despite breaking both of his legs after being hit by an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n bobsled during a practice run at

Cesana Pariol Cesana Pariol was the venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The track, built for the games, is located in Cesana Torinese. The venue holds approximately 7,130 spectators, of whom 3,624 are se ...

on 30 November 2005. Bethge was planning to avoid travelling to the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

due to health problems arising from these injuries, but after the whole German team appealed to him to reconsider by wearing "Raimund for Whistler" t-shirts at a World Cup race in

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

he agreed to attend the Games. He retired from coaching in August 2010. Bethge is the half-brother of the sports shooter

Bernhard Hochwald Bernhard Hochwald (born 27 June 1957 in Schöneiche) is a German sport shooter. He competed in skeet shooting events at the Summer Olympics in 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of ...

and Katja Klepp is his sister-in-law.

References

Australian Broadcasting Company News on BethgeBethge named 2006 Trainer of the Year.

*Wallenchinsky, David (1984). "Bobsled". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 1896 – 1980''. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 559, 561. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethge, Raimund 1947 births Living people Sportspeople from Schwedt Bobsledders from Brandenburg German male bobsledders East German male hurdlers Bobsledders at the 1976 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders for East Germany East German male bobsledders German sports coaches East German Athletics Championships winners