Ohlstadt (RWH) Former 4-man bobsleigh World Champion Stefan Gaisreiter celebrates his 75th birthday on Saturday (10 December). He started his career as a brakeman for Wolfgang Zimmerer and later switched to the steering ropes. His greatest success as a pilot was winning the 1979 World Championships in 4-man with his crew Dieter Gebhard, Hans Wagner and Heinz Busche. The lead over Meinhard Nehmer (GDR) was just one hundredth of a second.
His career ended in 1980 shortly before the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid (USA) after a crash in St. Moritz. Gaisreiter and his brakeman Dieter Gebhard were considered gold favourites at this time.
Later Gaisreiter worked as a coach in Germany and the USA. As a brakeman in Wolfgang Zimmerer's 4-man bobsleigh, the Ohlstadt native won in 1969 the World Championships and in 1972 bronze at the Olympics in Sapporo (JPN).
Photo: Siegfried Kachel
