Quick Facts
Biography
Wolfgang Hoppe ([ˈhɔppə]; born 14 November 1957, Apolda, Thuringia) is an East German former decathlete, bob pilot and 36-time international medal winner who competed from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won six medals with two golds (Two-man: 1984, Four-man: 1984), three silvers (Two-man: 1988, Four-man: 1988, 1992), and one bronze (1994).
At the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Hoppe carried the flag of Germany, who was competing as a unified nation in the Winter Olympics for the first time since the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Hoppe also won fourteen medals at the FIBT World Championships with six golds (Two-man: 1985, 1986, 1989; Four-man: 1991, 1995, 1997), one silver (Four-man: 1987), and seven bronzes (Two-man: 1983, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993; Four-man: 1989, 1996). He also won the Bobsleigh World Cup championship in combined men's (1991–92), two-man (1990–91), and four-man (1991–92, 1995–96).
Hoppe a former army major retired from bobsledding after the 1997 FIBT World Championships to become coach of the German national team, coaching such athletes as Susi Erdmann, Sandra Kiriasis, Gabriele Kohlisch, and André Lange.
In October 1986, he was awarded a Star of People's Friendship in gold (second class) for his sporting success. He is the brother of motocross racer and 37-time medal winner Heinz Hoppe.