Anton WINKLER

Anton Winkler was the best West German luger in the second half of the 1970s at a time, when the sport was dominated by athletes from the GDR (East Germany). He started racing in Königssee close to his hometown Berchtesgaden as a school sport. Between 1970 and 1973, he won several German Youth Championships in the single and double seaters. In 1972, as a 17-year-old, he won his first international medal - silver at the European Junior Championships, and served as a substitute on the German team at the 1972 Olympic Winter Games at Sapporo. His role model became teammate Josef Fendt, twice World Champion and later president of the international federation FIL. After a reasonable sixth place in 1976 in Innsbruck, Winkler claimed his first international title as a senior, winning the 1977 European Championship on his home turf in Königssee, beating GDR’s Hans Rinn. He also won World Championship bronze medals in 1977, and silver in 1978, only defeated by South Tyrolean Paul Hildgartner. Winkler also secured the first ever single seater’s World Cup in the 1977/78 season.

In 1979, Winkler also began competing in the double seater and won a bronze with Anton Wembacher at the World Championships. When a number of favorites failed to finish their runs in the single seater of the Olympic Winter Games in 1980 in Lake Placid, Winkler did not run with full risk and won the bronze medal. In the following double seater Winkler and Wembacher placed sixth. Nationally, he won two German Championships (1976 and 1980) in the single seater, and was second twice (1974 and 1975). After the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, Winkler retired and worked as a youth coach in Königssee. Subsequently, the trained electrician worked as a civilian employee for the German Army.