German skier and three-time Olympic Champion, winning gold in 1972, 1976, and in 1980 at the Lake Placid Games.
He won the 1971 FIS Junior World Ski Championships at the age of 19.
He was the first male athlete to win three consecutive Winter Olympic gold medals in the same event: 1972, 1976, and 1980.
He married Evi Wehling in 1981.
He took gold in the 1980 Olympics where speed skater Eric Heiden won five gold medals.
