Gottfried Diener

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameGottfried•Diener
Used nameGottfried•Diener
Born1 November 1926 in Zürich, Zürich (SUI)
Died26 May 2015 in Engelberg, Obwalden (SUI)
AffiliationsZürcher Bob Club, Zürich (SUI)
NOC Switzerland
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Gottfried Diener had already been active in sport, especially crossbow shooting, gymnastics, and wrestling, when he was approached by Heiri Angst, a fellow wrestler, in 1951 to take up competitive bobsledding. In 1954 Diener and Angst, with Harry Warburton and five-time Olympic medalist Fritz Feierabend, won a gold medal in the four-man event at the World Championships. Feierabend, who had previously had tactical disputes with Diener over bobsled racing, was a last-minute replacement for Franz Kapus. Kapus returned in 1955 and, with Robert Alt replacing Warburton, Diener and Angst earned a second World Championship gold medal. The quartet carried their success to the 1956 Winter Olympics, where they captured gold once again. Diener retired from active competition after the Games and later served as president of the International Crossbow Shooting Union for nearly three and a half decades, from 1965 through 1999.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1956 Winter Olympics Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) SUI Gottfried Diener
Four, Men (Olympic) Switzerland 1 1 Gold

Special Notes