Gerhard Krüger (harness racing driver)

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Gerhard Krüger wins the Whitsun Trotting race in Berlin-Karlshorst on June 9, 1957

Gerhard Krüger (born March 5, 1925 in Berlin ; † April 29, 2017 there ) was a German harness racing driver .

Life

Gerhard Krüger's career began in 1939 with an apprenticeship with Bonny Schuller, which he finished with Kurt Schön in 1943. Gerhard Krüger won his first race on July 6, 1940.

After completing his apprenticeship, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and repeatedly injured during World War II . After the end of the war, he won his first golden cap in 1949, at the age of 24, with 114 victories. Seven more championship titles as a professional driver and five titles as a coach followed in the next few years. Gerhard Krüger's most successful year was 1958 when he achieved 273 sulky successes.

In 1961, due to the construction of the Berlin Wall abroad, Krüger went first to Paris, then to the USA, where he won the Transoceanic Trot in New York in 1962 .

In 1964 Krüger went to an Italian racing team and won numerous races in Italy in the following years.

After having worked for an Italian racing stable for years, he built his own horse and cattle breeding near Rome. He had his greatest breeding success with the stallion Omsk, born in 1989, who brought in more than one million euros in prize money (converted).

With a total of 4088 victories as a driver, Gerhard Krüger is in the Traberzucht e. V. as the most successful athlete - although the total number of his victories is significantly higher, as he played a large part of his career abroad.

In 2010 Krüger returned to Berlin. He was married to Sibylle. His son Steve also became a professional sulky driver. Krüger died on April 29, 2017 in Berlin-Tempelhof in Wenckebach Hospital .

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Krüger  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Traben: Driver legend Gerhard Krüger at the age of 92 died media-sportservice.de on April 30, 2017
  2. ↑ a b Heiko Lingk: Farewell to a really big one: Sulky legend Gerhard Krüger is dead Berliner Woche from May 3rd 2017
  3. ^ Hall of Fame of German Trotting Sport
  4. ↑ Der Spiegel 8/1964
personal data
SURNAME Kruger, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German harness racing driver and trainer
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 2017
Place of death Berlin