Olaf Ludwig

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameOlaf•Ludwig
Used nameOlaf•Ludwig
Born13 April 1960 in Gera, Thüringen (GER)
Measurements182 cm / 82 kg
AffiliationsSG Wismut Gera, Gera (GER) / Team T-Mobile, Bonn (GER)
NOC East Germany Germany
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 1
Bronze 0
Total 2

Biography

Cyclist Olaf Ludwig started at three Olympic Games – 1980 Moskva and 1988 Seoul representing the former GDR, and at 1996 Atlanta with re-unified Germany. In 1980, he won a silver medal with the road time trial team and finished 32nd in the individual road race. In 1984 at Los Angeles he could not start due to the Soviet-led East German boycott. At Seoul in 1988, he won the individual road race and placed 14th in the points race as a track cyclist. In 1996, he again competed in the individual road race, finishing 16th.

In 1986 and 1988 Ludwig was voted GDR Sportsman of the Year, as he won the Peace Race as an amateur in both years. Domestically, he won five East German national titles. After the collapse of the former GDR and German re-unification, he became a professional and was considered one of the most outstanding German cyclists of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1990 he won the green jersey for the sprint classification in his first Tour de France. In 1992, he placed second in the monument race Paris-Roubaix, also winning the overall World Cup that year. One year later he won the bronze medal at the Road Cycling Pro Worlds. In his last pro years in 1996 and 1997 Ludwig rode several six-day races.

After the end of his active career, Ludwig founded his own company, which headed the T-Mobile team until the end of 2006. In 1997 his autobiography Hell Ride on the Sky Ladder was published by the sports journalist Helmut Wengel. In 1999 he became vice-president of the Federation of German Cyclists (BDR).

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1980 Summer Olympics Cycling Road (Cycling) GDR Olaf Ludwig
Road Race, Individual, Men (Olympic) 32
100 kilometres Team Time Trial, Men (Olympic) East Germany 2 Silver
1988 Summer Olympics Cycling Road (Cycling) GDR Olaf Ludwig
Road Race, Individual, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold
Cycling Track (Cycling) GDR Olaf Ludwig
Points Race, Men (Olympic) 14
1996 Summer Olympics Cycling Road (Cycling) GER Olaf Ludwig
Road Race, Individual, Men (Olympic) 16

Special Notes