André Lange

André Lange
Lange at the 2002 Olympics
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1973-06-28) 28 June 1973[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
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Men´s Bobsleigh
Olympic Games
2002 Salt Lake City Four-man
2006 Turin Two-man
2006 Turin Four-man
2010 Vancouver Two-man
2010 Vancouver Four-man
World Championships
2000 Altenberg Four-man
2003 Lake Placid Two-man
2003 Lake Placid Four-man
2004 Königssee Four-man
2005 Calgary Four-man
2007 St. Moritz Two-man
2008 Altenberg Two-man
2008 Altenberg Four-man
2000 Altenberg Two-man
2001 St. Moritz Four-man
2005 Calgary Two-man
2009 Lake Placid Four-man
2004 Königssee Two-man
2007 St. Moritz Four-man
World Cup Championships
2000–01 Combined
2000–01 Four-man
2002–03 Combined
2002–03 Four-man
2003–04 Combined
2003–04 Four-man
2007–08 Combined
2007–08 Two-man
2007–08 Four-man
2001–02 Four-man
2008–09 Two-man
1998–99 Four-man
2000–01 Two-man
2001–02 Combined
2002–03 Two-man
2003–04 Two-man
2006–07 Combined
2006–07 Two-man
2008–09 Combined
2008–09 Four-man
2009–10 Four-man
European Championships
2000 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man
2002 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man
2004 St. Moritz Four-man
2005 Altenberg Two-man
2006 St. Moritz Two-man
2007 Cortina Four-man
2009 St. Moritz Two-man
2010 Igls Four-man
2002 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man
2003 Winterberg Four-man
2003 Winterberg Two-man
2005 Altenberg Four-man
2006 St. Moritz Four-man
2008 Cesana Two-man
2010 Igls Two-man
2001 Königssee Four-man
2004 St. Moritz Two-man
2007 Cortina Two-man
2008 Cesana Four-man
German Championships
2000 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man
2009 Winterberg Four-man
World Junior Championships
1998 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man
1998 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man
1999 Altenberg Four-man
Men´s Wok
World Wok Racing Championships
2009 Winterberg Four-man
2010 Oberhof Four-man
2007 Innsbruck Four-man

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]

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

  1. ^ a b c d FIBT-Bobsleigh profile Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 3 December 2010
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "André Lange". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "André Lange wird Rodeltrainer in Südkorea" [André Lange becomes luge coach in South Korea]. Sportschau (in German). 9 August 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "André Lange wird Chef des Wintersportzentrum Oberhof" [André Lange becomes head of Winter Sports Centre Oberhof]. Volksstimme (Saxony-Anhalt) (in German). 16 April 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Ex-German Olympic bobsleigh champ named S. Korea luge coach". Yonhap. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2018.