He flew through devilish ice channels, never fell in the four-man bobsleigh and made Olympic history. The busy Meinhard Nehmer looks back on a career that shaped bobsledding. A story about courage, friendship and a sport that would have been different without him.
Meinhard Nehmer described the old bobsleigh track in the Olympic town of Cortina d’Ampezzo as “diabolical”. He categorized many ice channels, for example in Lake Placid or in Cervinia, Italy. “They demanded everything from you, sometimes we flew a meter, we didn’t have any awnings like we have today and we often had poor visibility,” remembers Nehmer, who is celebrating his 85th birthday this Tuesday. In the 1970s, falls in the flying crates often ended in broken bones.
But the trained frigate captain of the People’s Navy was the exceptional pilot par excellence in the ice channel. He still has a unique selling point. “I am the only world-class man who has never fallen in a four-man bobsleigh competition, and that still stands today,” the former javelin thrower proudly told the German Press Agency.
Only once did he lie down on his side with the small sleigh in Königssee: “I tried something then,” he says with a smile: “Raimund of all people felt that.” His long-time friend and former pusher Raimund Bethge is also part of the closest circle when the family, children and grandchildren toast on Tuesday. “I have a bit of a cold, but it’s always nice when the family is there,” says Nehmer, who lost his beloved wife Renate eight years ago. It was a painful loss.
Otherwise, the trained farmer, trained weather technician and engineer for agricultural machinery technology always distracts himself with work on his 7,000 square meter property in Varnkevitz, a district of Putgarten around five kilometers from Cape Arkona. Fishing, hunting, butchering, making sausages himself – Meinhard Nehmer has many busy hobbies. A few years ago he reduced his property by several hectares. “I’m always busy, so I stay fit,” says the three-time Olympic bobsleigh champion.
First Olympic victory for a GDR bobsleigh
There is also a lot to talk about during the visit from Bethge, the former head coach of the German bobsledders. Taker was an important reference person for Bethge, not just as a pilot. “His personality, his calm manner and his charisma make him so valuable,” says Bethge, who became world champion in 1977 as a pusher with Nehmer. It was also Nehmer who called Bethge every day after his serious accident on the bobsleigh track in Cesana at the end of 2005 and gave him strength for recovery.
Nehmer had his first sporting moment of glory in 1976 in Innsbruck. First he felt “unbelievable goosebumps” as a flag bearer, then he ensured the first Olympic victory for a GDR bobsleigh. Hours later he went one better in the four-man bobsleigh. 50 years later, the heroes want to meet in Lans near Innsbruck in February and chat about the old days.
Nehmer wrote bobsleigh history in Lake Placid in 1980: on the already infamous track at Mount van Hoevenberg, he was the first pilot to break the minute barrier and win his third Olympic gold. “All the experts said: That wasn’t possible. I showed it to them, the 50,000 people at the track were totally freaking out. That’s why I’m still revered as a hero in the USA today. With the Americans there must be a lot of smoke in the gutter,” remembers Nehmer.
Today, however, “the tension in bobsleigh is a bit gone. Also because there is no really strong competition from Italy, Austria and Switzerland,” emphasizes Nehmer, who first worked in Italy and then in the USA after the political change. Thanks to Nehmer, the Americans won their first World Cup medal in 24 years with Brian Shimer in 1993.
“Meinhard is the most striking point in German bobsleigh history”
Under the direction of Bethge, Nehmer then returned to the German association as a track coach: “He could read the track like no one else,” says today’s head coach Rene Spies. At that time, Nehmer had already noticed the young Francesco Friedrich. “It’s crazy what he did at the start,” Nehmer praises the record world champion and admits: “We were never the fastest at the start.”
But the excellent inventor had a feel for the steering cables and almost always produced the fastest bobsleigh. “I had a DKW F9 for 15 years and did almost everything on it myself in the workshop.” Brakeman Bogdan Musiol emphasizes: “He was extremely keen to experiment and even then completely took the boxes apart down to the smallest detail.”
For Wolfgang Hoppe, who achieved the Olympic double in Sarajevo in 1984, “Meinhard is the most striking point in German bobsleigh history. If it weren’t for his successes, the development would not have happened as it did.” In 2016, Nehmer was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements.
dpa/SUF
