Thomas Schwab (born 20 April 1962 in Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...

, Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

) is a West German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 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 in the late 1980s. Together with Wolfgang Staudinger

Wolfgang Staudinger

Wolfgang Staudinger is a West German luger who competed from 1978 to 1989. Together with Thomas Schwab he won the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary....

 he won the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1988 Winter Olympics

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...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, representing West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

.

Schwab also won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1987 FIL World Luge Championships

FIL World Luge Championships 1987

The FIL World Luge Championships 1987 took place in Igls, Austria for the second time, having done so previously in 1977.-Men's singles:Prock wins Austria's first medal at the world championships since 1978.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

 in Igls, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. He also won two gold medals at the 1988 FIL European Luge Championships

FIL European Luge Championships 1988

The FIL European Luge Championships 1988 took place in Königssee, West Germany for a record fifth time after hosting the event previously in 1967, 1972, 1973, and 1977...

 in Königssee

Schönau am Königsee

Schönau am Königsee is a municipality in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in the German state of Bavaria. It is located at the northern end of the Königssee lake....

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 (Men's doubles and mixed team). Schwab won the overall Luge World Cup men's doubles title in 1986-7.

From 1994 to 2008, he was head coach of all male and female lugers of Germany

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...

's A-Group, succeeding Josef Lenz

Josef Lenz

Josef "Sepp" Lenz is a West German luger who competed in the 1960s. He won the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1962 FIL European Luge championships in Weissenbach, Austria....

 at this position. Since the 1994 Winter Olympics

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...

, his athletes have won a total of 129 medals in the Winter Olympics, world championships, and European championships. In February 2008, Schwab was named secretary general and sports director for the German bobsleigh and luge federation (BSD), effective in May. He was replaced as head coach of the German luge team by Norbert Loch, father of 2008 men's single world champion

FIL World Luge Championships 2008

The FIL World Luge Championships 2008 took place January 21-27, 2008 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Oberhof, Germany for the third time after having hosted the event in 1973 and 1985. The relay competition took the place of the team event that had been held at every world...

 Felix

Felix Loch

Felix Loch is a German luger and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and has been on the German national team since 2006. He won five medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with four golds and one silver...

.