Jan Behrendt (born November 29, 1967 in Ilmenau

Ilmenau

Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...

, Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

) is an East German-German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 luge

Luge

A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

r who competed from the mid 1980s to 1998. Together with Stefan Krausse he won two Olympic gold medals (1992

1992 Winter Olympics

The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...

, 1998

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

), one silver medal (1988

1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...

) and one bronze (1994

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

) in men's doubles.

In addition, they won eleven medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with seven golds (Men's doubles: 1989

FIL World Luge Championships 1989

The FIL World Luge Championships 1989 took place in Winterberg, West Germany. The mixed team event consisting of two separate runs each in men's singles, two separate runs each in women's singles, and one run in men's doubles debutted.-Men's singles:...

, 1991

FIL World Luge Championships 1991

The FIL World Luge Championships 1991 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1989. It also marked the first time East Germany and West Germany competed as a unified German team.-Men's singles:...

, 1993

FIL World Luge Championships 1993

The FIL World Luge Championships 1993 took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1990.-Men's singles:Suckow is the first American to win a championship at the World or Winter Olympic level....

, 1995

FIL World Luge Championships 1995

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

; Mixed team: 1991, 1993, 1995) and four silvers (Men's doubles: 1997

FIL World Luge Championships 1997

The FIL World Luge Championships 1997 took place in Igls, Austria for the third time after previously hosting the event in 1977 and 1987.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, Mixed team: 1989, 1996

FIL World Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, 1997). At the FIL European Luge Championships, they won a total of five medals with three golds (Men's doubles: 1996

FIL European Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:Demtschenko is the first Russian to medal at the championships since the breakup of the Soviet Union in late 1991.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

, 1998

FIL European Luge Championships 1998

The FIL European Luge Championships 1998 took place in Oberhof, Germany for the second time having hosted the event previously in 1979.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

; Mixed team: 1998) and two bronzes (Men's doubles: 1990

FIL European Luge Championships 1990

The FIL European Luge Championships 1990 took place in Igls, Austria for a second time after hosting the event previously in 1951.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, 1992

FIL European Luge Championships 1992

The FIL European Luge Championships 1992 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the second time after hosting the event previously in 1982. It marked the first time East Germany and West Germany competed as a unified German team since the country reunified in 1990 and in the championships since...

).

They won the overall Luge World Cup men's doubles title three times (1993-4, 1994-5, 1995-6).

Behrendt and Krausse retired after the 1998 Olympics. The same year they were proclaimed honorary citizens of Ilmenau.