André Lange (German pronunciation: [ˈlaŋə]; born 28 June 1973) is a retired German bobsledder and one of the most successful bob pilots of all time. Competing at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, he has won four gold and one silver medals. Lange originally started his sledding career as a luger, taking up bobsleigh in 1993.[3]

Quick Facts Personal information, Nationality ...
André Lange
Lange at the 2002 Olympics
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1973-06-28) 28 June 1973 (age 51)[1]
Ilmenau, Bezirk Suhl,
 East Germany
(now Ilmenau, Thuringia, Germany)[2]
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight100 kg (220 lb; 15 st 10 lb)[1]
Sport
Country Germany
Sport Bobsleigh (pilot)
Event(s)4-man, 2-man
ClubBSR Rennsteig Oberhof (1993–2010)
Coached byWolfgang Hoppe
Retired2010
Achievements and titles
Personal best 1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Men´s Bobsleigh
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2002 Salt Lake CityFour-man
Gold medal – first place2006 TurinTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2006 TurinFour-man
Gold medal – first place2010 VancouverTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2010 VancouverFour-man
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2000 AltenbergFour-man
Gold medal – first place2003 Lake PlacidTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2003 Lake PlacidFour-man
Gold medal – first place2004 KönigsseeFour-man
Gold medal – first place2005 CalgaryFour-man
Gold medal – first place2007 St. MoritzTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2008 AltenbergTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2008 AltenbergFour-man
Silver medal – second place2000 AltenbergTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2001 St. MoritzFour-man
Silver medal – second place2005 CalgaryTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2009 Lake PlacidFour-man
Bronze medal – third place2004 KönigsseeTwo-man
Bronze medal – third place2007 St. MoritzFour-man
World Cup Championships
Gold medal – first place2000–01Combined
Gold medal – first place2000–01Four-man
Gold medal – first place2002–03Combined
Gold medal – first place2002–03Four-man
Gold medal – first place2003–04Combined
Gold medal – first place2003–04Four-man
Gold medal – first place2007–08Combined
Gold medal – first place2007–08Two-man
Gold medal – first place2007–08Four-man
Silver medal – second place2001–02Four-man
Silver medal – second place2008–09Two-man
Bronze medal – third place1998–99Four-man
Bronze medal – third place2000–01Two-man
Bronze medal – third place2001–02Combined
Bronze medal – third place2002–03Two-man
Bronze medal – third place2003–04Two-man
Bronze medal – third place2006–07Combined
Bronze medal – third place2006–07Two-man
Bronze medal – third place2008–09Combined
Bronze medal – third place2008–09Four-man
Bronze medal – third place2009–10Four-man
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2000 Cortina d'AmpezzoTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2002 Cortina d'AmpezzoFour-man
Gold medal – first place2004 St. MoritzFour-man
Gold medal – first place2005 AltenbergTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2006 St. MoritzTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2007 CortinaFour-man
Gold medal – first place2009 St. MoritzTwo-man
Gold medal – first place2010 IglsFour-man
Silver medal – second place2002 Cortina d'AmpezzoTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2003 WinterbergFour-man
Silver medal – second place2003 WinterbergTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2005 AltenbergFour-man
Silver medal – second place2006 St. MoritzFour-man
Silver medal – second place2008 CesanaTwo-man
Silver medal – second place2010 IglsTwo-man
Bronze medal – third place2001 KönigsseeFour-man
Bronze medal – third place2004 St. MoritzTwo-man
Bronze medal – third place2007 CortinaTwo-man
Bronze medal – third place2008 CesanaFour-man
German Championships
Gold medal – first place2000 Cortina d'AmpezzoFour-man
Gold medal – first place2009 WinterbergFour-man
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place1998 Cortina d'AmpezzoTwo-man
Gold medal – first place1998 Cortina d'AmpezzoFour-man
Gold medal – first place1999 AltenbergFour-man
Men´s Wok
World Wok Racing Championships
Gold medal – first place2009 WinterbergFour-man
Gold medal – first place2010 OberhofFour-man
Bronze medal – third place2007 InnsbruckFour-man
Close

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Lange won the four-man event with teammates Carsten Embach, Enrico Kühn and Kevin Kuske. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Lange also won gold in the four-man event with teammates Kevin Kuske, René Hoppe and Martin Putze, in addition to winning the two-man event with Kuske. He competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics, winning gold in the two-man and silver in the four-man events.

Lange also won fourteen medals at the FIBT World Championships with eight golds (Two-man: 2003, 2007, 2008; Four-man: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008), four silvers (Two-man: 2000, 2005; Four-man: 2001, 2009), and two bronzes (Two-man: 2004, Four-man: 2007).

At the Bobsleigh World Cup level, he has won three combined men's championships (2000-1, 2002–3, 2003–4), one two-man championship (2007–08), and four four-man championships (2000-1, 2002–3, 2003–4, 2007–8).

In April 2014 it was announced that Lange would become the head of the Thuringian Winter Sports Centre in Oberhof, which includes the DKB Ski Arena, the Oberhof sledding track, the Kanzlersgrund ski jumps and the town's indoor ski area, following the retirement of the previous head Wolfgang Filbrich that July.[4] In May 2017 he announced that he was leaving this role.[3] In August 2017 the Korea Luge Federation announced that Lange would join the South Korean luge team as a coach in October on a five-month contract to assist head coach Steffen Sartor to help prepare them for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang, South Korea.[5][3]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.