Andreas "Anderl" Ostler (21 January 1921 - 24 November 1988) was a German

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...

 bobsledder who competed in the early 1950s.

As a teenager during the 1936 Winter Olympics

1936 Winter Olympics

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. Germany also hosted the Summer Olympics the same year in Berlin...

 in his home town, Anderl Ostler and future teammates at :de:Sportclub (SC) Riessersee became interested in winter sports. The games in 1940 and 1944 were canceled during the war, and Germany was not invited to the 1948 Winter Olympics

1948 Winter Olympics

The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936...

.

At the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

 in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, he became the first person to steer both the two-man and four-man bob to gold medals at the same Winter Olympics, together with Lorenz Nieberl

Lorenz Nieberl

Lorenz Nieberl was a West German bobsledder who competed in the early 1950s. At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, he became the first person to win both the two-man and four-man competitions at the same Winter Olympics...

 pushing and braking. They were wearing American football helmet

Football helmet

A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...

s. Their 17-year old two-man bob, officially named "Deutschland I", had written "Cognac

Cognac

Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...

" on its front.http://www.aafla.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1952/or1952w.pdfhttp://www.djfl.de/entertainment/djfl/1125/112592hintergrund.html
http://www.oppisworld.de/zeit/kalender/sport.html

When both German 4-man-teams, rivals since their pre-war youth at :de:Sportclub (SC) Riessersee in Garmisch, only qualified in mid-field, they decided to join forces. With Friedrich Kuhn

Friedrich Kuhn

Frederich Kuhn was a West German bobsledder who competed in the early 1950s. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.-References:***...

and Franz Kemser

Franz Kemser

Franz Kemser was a German-West German bobsledder who competed from the late 1930s to the early 1950s...

, the heaviest members of the other team that withdrew, bob "Deutschland I" won all four heats. The Gold medalists had a combined weight of 472 kg, or an average of 118 kg per person. The rules were soon altered, introducing a limit of 400 kg. The German movie :de:Schwere Jungs (2007) is based on their story.

Ostler won four medals at the FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships

The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 with two golds in 1951

FIBT World Championships 1951

The FIBT World Championships 1951 took place in Alpe d'Huez, France. Germany returned to the FIBT World Championships for the first time since World War II, albeit as the separate countries of East Germany and West Germany.-Two man bobsleigh:...

 and two silvers in 1953

FIBT World Championships 1953

The FIBT World Championships 1953 took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany for the third time after previously hosting the four-man event of the championships in 1934 and 1938...

 at home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, each time both in two-man and four-man.

Ostler carried the flag of Germany

Flag of Germany

The flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold....

 during the opening ceremonies of the 1956 Winter Olympics

1956 Winter Olympics

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

 in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, when Germans took part as United Team of Germany

United Team of Germany

The Unified Team of Germany , competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games as a united team of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic...

.

After he retired from bobsleigh

Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....

, Ostler became a gastronomer

Gastronomy

Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...

 (Chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

).