Ute OBERHOFFNER

Ute Oberhoffner-Weiß, whose father, Peter Weiß, was on the East German national team in the first half of the 1960s, made her first podium with a third-place finish at the 1980 European Youth Championships. In the following years she was a consistent bronze medalist: 1983, 1987, and 1989 World Championships, 1986 European Championships, and the 1984 Winter Olympics. Oberhoffner-Weiß had her best year in 1988 winning the European Championships, silver at the Olympics, and the East German national title. Oberhoffner-Weiß also won the Luge World Cup in 1982-83 and 1988-89, after which she retired. She has since become a certified social worker and in 1988 was made an honorary citizen of Ilmenau and mayor of Unterpölitz. From 1990-2003 she was president of the Sports Youth of Thuringia, and she received the highest German and Thuringian Youth Award in 2003. She is the wife of Bernd Oberhoffner, European Champion in 1979.