Lutz Kühnlenz (born 24 June 1965 in Ilmenau) was an East German luger who competed in the mid-1980s. He won the silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 1985 FIL World Luge Championships.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sLuge | ||
Representing  East Germany
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1985 Oberhof | Men's doubles |
| World Cup Championships | ||
 |
1984-05 | Men's doubles |
His sporting talent was recognized early and promoted in the Children and Youth Sports School (KJS) in Oberhof. Even as a teenager he specialized in luge on the doubles and at the age of 18 he and his partner, René Keller, were already vice European- and World Champions in the youth competitions. In 1982, the two became GDR champions in Oberwiesenthal, and in 1985 and 1986 they were runners-up in Oberhof.[1] Kühnlenz's best overall finish in the Luge World Cup was third in men's doubles in 1984-5.[2] Biggest success was the silver medal at the World Championships 1985.
In 1986 Kühnlenz married the luger Susanne Chitry. Shortly before the Olympics - although Kühnlenz and his partner still finished 6th at the 1987 World Championships in Innsbruck and successfully competed in the pre-Olympic tests for Calgary in 1988 with a World Cup victory - the "performance mandate" of Kühnlenz was withdrawn, after his wife was surprisingly revoked from a trip into a "non-socialist country". Kühnlenz than was unable to continue his sporting career. In 1990 he received his diploma as a sports teacher from the German University for Physical Culture in Leipzig.
After completing his sporting career, Lutz Kühnlenz and his wife founded a sauna company between Erfurt and Weimar, and he took some honorary positions; i.a. in the club board of the German Sauna Association.[3] The couple has two sons.
Achievements edit
(selection)[4]
Juniors:
- European Championship 1983 in Innsbruck: 2nd place
- World Championship 1984 in Bludenz: 2nd place
Seniors:
- World Cup victories:
- Season 1983/84: Königssee
- 1984/85: Hammarstrand
- 1985/86 and 1986/87: Oberhof
- World Championship 1985 Oberhof: 2nd place
Honors edit
Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver[5]
References edit
- ^ "DDR Meisterschaften". Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ "Luge: World Cup: Men: Doubles". Sports 123. 2008-02-06. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Sauna & Bäderpraxis 1/2015, page 15
- ^ "Luge - Lutz Kühnlenz (East Germany)". www.the-sports.org. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Neues Deutschland 15.10.1986, page 7