Felix Endrich

Felix Endrich (December 5, 1921 - January 31, 1953) is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in the two-man event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.

Endrich also won four medals in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships with one gold (1953), two silvers (1947, 1949), and one bronze (1951).

Endrich was killed at the 1953 FIBT World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany during the four-man competition when the sled he was driving hurtled over a wall and crashed into a tree. He suffered a broken neck in the collision and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Endrich had been married less than a month and his bride saw the fatal accident as it happened. He had also won the two-man world championship a week earlier.

References

* [http://sports123.com/bob/mo-2.html Bobsleigh two-man Olympic medalists 1932-56 and since 1964]
* [http://sports123.com/bob/mw-2.html Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931]
* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ENDRIFEL01 DatabaseOlympics.com profile]
* [http://www.bunksplace.com/endrich.jpgPicture of Endrich]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889656,00.html "TIME" magazine February 9, 1953 article on Endrich's death at the 1953 FIBT World Championships] .
*Wallenchinsky, David (1984). "Bobsled: Two-man". In "The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics". New York: Penguin Books. p. 558.