Robert Pipkins

Last updated

Robert Pipkins
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1973-02-23) February 23, 1973 (age 50)
Buffalo, New York, United States
Sport
Sport Luge

Robert Pipkins (born February 23, 1973) is an American former luger. [1] He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics. [2] He was the first African-American to represent the United States in the luge at an international level. [3]

Contents

Biography

Pipkins was born in Buffalo, New York in 1973, and attended Drexel University in Philadelphia. [1] He took up luge in 1987, after his mother read about the sport and encouraged him to take part in the sport. [4] In 1992, Pipkins became the first American luger to win an international race, [5] when he finished first at the World Junior Championships. [1] He was on the US Luge Team from 1991 to 1998, [6] winning four back-to-back titles during that time. [1] [7]

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Pipkins competed in the men's singles event, finishing in 21st place. [8] Two years later, at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, he competed in the same event, [9] this time finishing in 16th place. [10] He also tried to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics. [11]

In 1993 in Oberhof, Germany, Pipkins was attacked by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads. [12] [13] Fellow luger Duncan Kennedy came to Pipkins rescue, [14] helping him to get away. [1] [15] Following the attack, the United States Olympic Committee declared that Germany was "dangerous". [1] The Mayor of Oberhof also sent an apology to Bill Clinton, with those involved handed prison sentences. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Hackl</span> German luger

Georg Hackl, often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as Hackl-Schorsch or as the Speeding Weißwurst a reference to what he looks like in his white bodysuit coming down the luge at fast speeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylke Otto</span> German luger

Sylke Otto is a former German luger who competed from 1991 to 2007. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles event in 2002 and 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Brugger</span> Italian luger and coach

Kurt Brugger is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1987 to 2003. Together with Wilfried Huber, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. He competed in four Winter Olympics: 1988, 1992, 1994 and 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfried Huber</span> Italian luger

Wilfried Huber is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1985 to 2010. Together with Kurt Brugger, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. He competed in both doubles and singles, but enjoyed his greatest success in doubles in partnership with Brugger. He made his debut in the Luge World Cup in 1986-87 season. He also took two medals at the World Junior Championships in Olang in 1988, a silver and a bronze. He competed in six Winter Olympics, in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006: he was aiming to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics, however he was not selected by the Italian team's head coach Walter Plaikner, and retired at the end of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jens Müller (luger)</span> East German luger

Jens Müller is an East German-German luger who competed from 1985 to 2001. He won two medals at the Winter Olympics in men's singles with a gold at Calgary in 1988 and a bronze at Nagano in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Prock</span> Austrian luger

Markus Prock is an Austrian luger who competed between 1983 and 2002. Born in Innsbruck, Prock competed in six Winter Olympics winning three medals in the men's singles event with two silvers and one bronze (2002).

Sergey Danilin was a Soviet luger who competed from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he earned the silver medal in the men's singles event at Sarajevo in 1984.

Markus Schmidt is an Austrian luger who competed between 1987 and 1997. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned a bronze medal in the men's singles event at Albertville in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steffi Martin</span> East German luger

Steffi Martin Walter was a German luger who competed during the 1980s, representing East Germany. She won two Olympic gold medals in the women's singles event, two gold medals at FIL World Luge Championships, one gold medal at FIL World Luge Championships, and two silver medals at FIL European Luge Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jozef Ninis</span> Slovak luger

Jozef Ninis is a Slovakian luger who has competed since 1996. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 22nd in the men's singles event at Turin in 2006.

Domen Pociecha is a Slovenian luger who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 26th in the men's singles event at Turin in 2006.

Mark Hatton is a British luge coach and former luger who competed from 1997 to 2007, including two Winter Olympic Games: Salt Lake City 2002 and Torino 2006. He finished in 25th place in the singles event at the 2002 Games, the highest placed sledder without a track in their home country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobias Wendl</span> German luger

Tobias Wendl is a German luger who has competed since 1993, acting as a front. He won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2008 FIL World Luge Championships in Oberhof, Germany, a silver and a bronze at the FIL European Luge Championships 2010 in Sigulda, a gold at the FIL World Luge Championships 2013, and two gold medals at his debut Winter Olympics at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He is also a Master Sergeant in the German Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inārs Kivlenieks</span> Latvian luger

Inārs Kivlenieks is a Latvian luger who has competed since 2005. His best Luge World Cup season finish was 20th in men's doubles in 2006–07.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Girod</span> French luger

Thomas Girod is a French luger who has competed since 1997. His best finish at the FIL World Luge Championships was 23rd in the men's singles event at Oberhof in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ondřej Hyman</span> Czech luger

Ondřej Hyman is a Czech luger who has competed since 1995. His best finish at the FIL World Luge Championships was 29th in the men's singles at Oberhof in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gleirscher</span> Austrian luger

David Gleirscher is an Austrian luger. He competed for Austria in the 2015–16 Luge World Cup in the men's singles and finished tenth in the points standings. In men's luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics he became a surprise champion after the favorite, Felix Loch, made a mistake in the last run and dropped out of the medals. Before the Olympic win, Gleirscher did not have a single World Cup podium appearance.

Kyle Heikkila is a United States Virgin Islands retired luger who competed at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics, finishing in 29th and 23rd, respectively. He carried his country's flag during the opening ceremony of the 1994 Games in Lillehammer. Before the competition, Heikkila said of the Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track: "It's a really nice track. It's easy to get down, but it's difficult to get down quickly. I prefer luge tracks; this is not really a luge track." Following his men's singles competition, the University of Antilles student said: "I'm really glad luge is one of the first competitions. You get it over with and relax," adding that he was looking forward to shopping, sightseeing and partying.

Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon is an American former luger. She competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics. Despite success at a junior and senior level, Calcaterra-McMahon is chiefly remembered for being in an on-track accident when she was 19, involving a coach from the German team.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Robert Pipkins". Olympedia. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Robert Pipkins Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Robert Pipkins". Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Luge: Robert Pipkins". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  5. ↑ "How one Islander made it to Winter Olympics as a luger in 1990s". Staten Island Live. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Ex-Olympian Robert Pipkins: Lugers still feel safe despite Vancouver death". Staten Island Live. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Pipkins takes 4th national luge crown". Deseret News. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Singles, Men (1992)". Olympedia. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Pipkins Conquers the Unknown in Luge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Singles, Men (1994)". Olympedia. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Two-time Olympian Robert Pipkins raced". AP News. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Olympics: Attack on U.S. Lugers Has Racial Overtones". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Racial Hatred: A Comparative Analysis of the Hate Crime Laws of the United States and Germany". Penn State Law. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Luge Racer Retires". The Spokesman. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  15. ↑ "When it comes to luge, many Americans consider in an Olympic-only event. The current US luge team could change that perception". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.