Patrick Gruber (born January 31, 1978 in Bruneck

Bruneck

Bruneck is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Bruneck lies at the confluence of the Ahr with the Rienz Bruneck is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Bruneck lies at the confluence of the Ahr with the Rienz...

) is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 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 has competed since 1997. He won four medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with two silvers (Men's doubles: 2011

FIL World Luge Championships 2011

The FIL World Luge Championships 2011 took place 28-30 January 2011 in Cesana, Italy at the Cesana Pariol bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track. A total of 19 countries competed.-Medalists:-Men's singles:...

, Mixed team: 2007

FIL World Luge Championships 2007

The FIL World Luge Championships 2007 took place February 2-4, 2007 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Igls, Austria for the fourth time after having hosted the event in 1977, 1987, and 1997.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:...

) and two bronzes (Mixed team: 2004

FIL World Luge Championships 2004

The FIL World Luge Championships 2004 took place February 13-15, 2004 at the Spiral track in Nagano, Japan. This marked the first time the event took place in Asia.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:...

, 2005

FIL World Luge Championships 2005

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

).

At the FIL European Luge Championships, Gruber won five medals with one gold (Men's doubles: 2008

FIL European Luge Championships 2008

The FIL European Luge Championships 2008 took place January 7-13, 2008 at the Cesana Pariol track in Cesana, Italy. The relay competition took the place of the team event that had been held at every European championship since 1988...

, three silvers (Men's doubles: 2004

FIL European Luge Championships 2004

The FIL European Luge Championships 2004 took place in Oberhof, Germany for the third time having hosted the event previously in 1979 and 1998. The number of teams per nation in the mixed team event is reduced from two to one starting at these championships....

; Mixed team: 2004, 2006

FIL European Luge Championships 2006

The FIL European Luge Championships 2006 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the fourth time having hosted the event previously in 1982, 1992, and 2000.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

), and one bronze (Men's doubles: 2006).

Gruber has competed in three Winter Olympics, earning his best finish of fourth in the men's doubles event at Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 in 2010

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

.

He won the overall men's doubles Luge World Cup title in 2004-5.