Gabriele Kohlisch (born December 7, 1963) is 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...

 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 and bobsledder who competed from the mid 1980s to 1997 in 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...

, then from 1998 to the early 2000s in 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....

. She is one of only two people to win World Championship gold medals in both bobsledding

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...

 and luge, the other being fellow German Susi Erdmann

Susi Erdmann

Susi Erdmann is an East German-German luger and bobsledder who competed from 1977 to 1998 in luge, then since 1999 in bobsleigh...

.

She was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt (modern Chemnitz

Chemnitz

Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...

) and initially competed for East Germany.

Luge career

Kohlisch won ten medals at the FIL World Luge Championships, including six golds (Women's singles: 1990

FIL World Luge Championships 1990

-Men's singles:Hackl becomes the first person to win the world championships in consecutive years in this event.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, 1995

FIL World Luge Championships 1995

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

; Mixed team: 1990

FIL World Luge Championships 1990

-Men's singles:Hackl becomes the first person to win the world championships in consecutive years in this event.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, 1991

FIL World Luge Championships 1991

The FIL World Luge Championships 1991 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1989. It also marked the first time East Germany and West Germany competed as a unified German team.-Men's singles:...

, 1993

FIL World Luge Championships 1993

The FIL World Luge Championships 1993 took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1990.-Men's singles:Suckow is the first American to win a championship at the World or Winter Olympic level....

, 1995

FIL World Luge Championships 1995

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

) and four silvers (Women's singles: 1987

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:...

, 1991, 1993; Mixed team: 1996

FIL World Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

). She also won three medals at the FIL European Luge Championships, including two silvers (Women's singles: 1996

FIL European Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:Demtschenko is the first Russian to medal at the championships since the breakup of the Soviet Union in late 1991.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

; Mixed team: 1994

FIL European Luge Championships 1994

The FIL European Luge Championships 1994 took place in Königssee, Germany for a record sixth time after hosting the event previously in 1967, 1972, 1973, 1977, and 1988.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:...

) and one bronze (Women's singles: 1994). Kohlisch competed in two Winter Olympics for the reunified 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...

 in the women's singles event, finishing sixth in both 1992

1992 Winter Olympics

The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...

 and 1994

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...

. Kohilsch retired from luge in 1997, mainly to the competitiveness among her fellow German teammates, most notably Jana Bode

Jana Bode

Jana Bode is a German luger who competed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.Born in Rochlitz, she won five medals at the FIL World Luge Championships, including one gold , two silvers , and two bronzes .Bode also won five medals at the FIL European...

, Erdmann, Silke Kraushaar

Silke Kraushaar

Silke Kraushaar-Pielach is a German luger who competed from 1995 to 2008...

, Barbara Niedernhuber

Barbara Niedernhuber

Barbara Niedernhuber is a German luger who competed from 1994 to 2006. She won two silver medals in the women's singles event at the Winter Olympics...

, and Sylke Otto

Sylke Otto

Sylke Otto is a former German luger who competed from 1991 to 2007...

. She won the Luge World Cup overall title in women's singles in 1993-4.

Bobsleigh career

Kohlisch switched to bobsleigh in 1998, competing 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...

. She won the gold medal in the debut two-woman event at the 2000 FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships 2000

The FIBT World Championships 2000 took place in Altenberg, Germany , Winterberg, Germany , and Igls, Austria . Altenberg hosted the championship event for the fourth time, doing so previously in 1991 , 1994 , and 1999...

 in Winterberg

Winterberg

Winterberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.-Geography:...

, 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...

. She tried out for the German bobsleigh team to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City, but finished third behind Erdmann and Sandra Prokoff (Sandra Kiriasis

Sandra Kiriasis

Sandra Kiriasis is a German bobsledder who has competed since 2000.At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City she won silver in the two-woman event together with teammate Ulrike Holzner...

 since late 2004).

Other activities

Kohlisch now serves as a spokesperson for the International Luge Federation and has served as a spokesperson for the German luge team since the 1998 Winter Olympics

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

 in Nagano.

She is also responsible for physical education at Marineschule Mürwik, the German Naval Academy in Flensburg, Germany.