Joseph BENZ

Sepp Benz first came to prominence on the international bobsledding scene when he won, alongside Werner Camichel, Erich Schärer and the non-Olympian Peter Schärer, the four-man event at the 1975 World Championships. The quartet captured bronze at the 1976 European Championships, but Carmichel and Peter Schärer were replaced by Ueli Bächli and Ruedi Marti for the 1976 Winter Olympics, where they earned silver. Benz and Erich Schärer also took bronze in the two-man event at these Games. This new foursome won silver at the 1977 and 1978 World Championships and bronze at the 1979 edition, with non-Olympian Hansjörg Trachsel temporarily replacing Marti for the latter tournament. In the two-man event, Erich Schärer and Benz won the 1978 and 1979 World Championships. Marti soon returned to the four-man team and helped them win the 1980 European Championships and take silver at that year’s Winter Olympics. Schärer and Benz, meanwhile, captured Olympic gold in the two-man.

Benz ended his career after earning bronze in both the two- (with Erich Schärer) and four-man (with Schärer, Max and non-Olympian Tony Rüegg) events at the 1981 World Championships. By career he worked in the postal service but, after retiring, he became active in the Swiss Bobsleigh, Toboggan, and Skeleton Sports Association and was particularly involved in promoting luging. He served as a trainer with the German national organization for many years and has worked with the International Luge Federation for over a decade.