Meinhard Nehmer only took up bobsledding after retiring from athletics, in which he was a nationally ranked javelin thrower. Although well past the age of 30, he formed a formidable partnership with Bernhard Germeshausen and they won the 1976 Olympic two-man and were both members of the winning four-man crew in 1976 and 1980.
In 1976, their bob was formed with a backbone of converted track & field athletes, as the GDR had threatened to break through to the podium positions over the previous seasons, and in Innsbruck this was achieved in spectacular fashion. Therefore, they were able to defeat the favored bobs from West Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Nehmer and Germeshausen share the record for the most gold medals won by bobsledders (through 2018). Nehmer also won an Olympic bronze medal in the two-man in 1980 with Bogdan Musiol. In 1977, Nehmer was World Champion in the four-man bob, and also won a silver and a bronze medal in 1978, adding another silver in 1979. At the Europeans he won one medal of each color in 1978 and 1979.
Nehmer later was coach of the USA bobsled team for the 1992 Olympics, and coached the Italian national team from 1993-2000. Finally, he took a job as a coach with the German national team until his retirement after the 2006 Torino Games.
East Germany