Markus Zimmermann

This article deals with the German bobsleigh athlete. For the German sculptor see Markus Zimmermann (sculptor) .

Markus Zimmermann (born September 4, 1964 in Berchtesgaden ) is a former German bobsleigh athlete .

Markus Zimmermann lives in his place of birth and competed for WSV Königssee . In 1984 he started as a pusher in bobsleigh. He has been pushing for Rudi Lochner since the end of the decade and was one of the world's best. In 1989 they were third at the European Championships. The following year they won both titles at the German championships. In 1991 the duo won the two-man bobsleigh title at the World Championships in Altenberg . At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville , they won the silver medal behind Gustav Weder and Donat Acklin . 1994 missed Lochner / Zimmermann as fourth placed a medal at the Games of Lillehammer . In the middle of the decade he switched to Christoph Langen's bobsleigh and formed one of the best teams of the 1990s with him. In 1996 Langen / Zimmermann won gold in two and four at the World Championships in Calgary as well as both German championship titles. At the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano , both started as favorites in the two-man bobsleigh, but in the end could only win the bronze medal. Together with Marco Jakobs and Olaf Hampel , however, they achieved the less-expected victory in the four-man bobsleigh.

The 1999 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo brought Zimmermann a silver medal in the two-man bobsleigh. The following year, Langen / Zimmermann won gold and silver in Altenberg with the four-man as well as the national championship title in the two-man bobsleigh. Another gold medal was added in 2001 in St. Moritz with the four-man bobsleigh. 2002 saw another Olympic triumph in Salt Lake City , this time in the two-man bobsleigh. The last international medal was won with silver in 2004 at the World Championships in Königssee . After Langen's retirement from professional sport for health reasons, Zimmermann also ended his active career. Zimmermann won various World Cup races with his pilots and was often far ahead. In 1996, 1998 and 2004 he won the overall two-man bobsleigh World Cup with Langen, and in 1999 in the four-man bobsleigh. With seven titles, Zimmermann is one of the ten most successful bobsleigh athletes at the Olympic Games and World Championships. For this he was rewarded with the silver bay leaf .

Web links

• Markus Zimmermann in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )