The long-standing national luge coach Josef “Sepp” Lenz is dead. As the luge world association Fil announced, citing his family, Lenz died at the age of 88 in the night from May 3rd to 4th in his Bavarian homeland.
“I am extremely sorry for his death. We are losing a great person who dedicated his life to luge,” said Fil President Einars Fogelis, expressing his condolences to the family.
Lenz was “Goldsmith from Königssee”
Lenz was national coach for 30 years and made a name for himself as the “goldsmith from Königssee”. Under his direction, German lugers won a total of 96 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships between 1965 and 1995. In addition, the former tobogganist, who was European champion in 1962, was an expert in the construction of artificial ice rinks. Among other things, he was jointly responsible for the construction of the track at Königssee and for the world association as a consultant for Olympic tracks.