Hans Jürgen GERHARDT

East German Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt was a nationally successful sprinter and hurdler before he turned to bobsledding. In 1973, he won a gold medal with the 4x100 relay at the European Youth Championships. At his only Olympic appearance in 1980 at Lake Placid he won a silver medal as the brakeman of the two-man bob with pilot Bernhard Germeshausen and a gold medal in the four-man bob with pilot Meinhard Nehmer, Germeshausen and Bogdan Musiol. At the World Championships Gerhardt added three gold (two-man 1981, four-man 1977 and 1981), one silver (four-man 1979) and one bronze medal (four-man 1978), while at the European Championships he won another three gold (two-man 1979, four-man 1979 and 1981) and five silver medals (two-man 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1983, four-man 1978). After the Lake Placid Olympics Gerhardt married figure skater Kerstin Stolfig.