Wolfgang Hoppe
Wolfgang Hoppe (; born 14 November 1957, Apolda, Thuringia) is an East German former decathlete, bob pilot and 36-time international medal winner who competed from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won six medals with two golds (Two-man: 1984, Four-man: 1984), three silvers (Two-man: 1988, Four-man: 1988, 1992), and one bronze (1994). At the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Hoppe carried the flag of Germany, who was competing as a unified nation in the Winter Olympics for the first time since the 1936  Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Hoppe also won fourteen medals at the FIBT World Championships with six golds (Two-man: 1985, 1986, 1989; Four-man: 1991, 1995, 1997), one silver (Four-man: 1987), and seven bronzes (Two-man: 1983, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993; Four-man: 1989, 1996). He also won the Bobsleigh World Cup championship in combined men's (1991–92), two-man (1990–91), and four-man (1991–92, 1995–96). Hoppe a former army major retired from bobsledding after the 1997 FIBT World Championships to become coach of the German national team, coaching such athletes as Susi Erdmann, Sandra Kiriasis, Gabriele Kohlisch , and André Lange. In October 1986, he was awarded a Star of People's Friendship in gold (second class) for his sporting success. He is the brother of motocross racer and 37-time medal winner Heinz Hoppe.