Horst Schönau

Horst Schönau ( born April 2, 1949 in Walter Hausen ) is a former German world champions in bobsleigh, who competed for East Germany.

Horst Schönau began his career in 1965 at the Friedrichrodaer spit mountain railway as a luger. He was there with a competition weight of 75 kg one of the lightest single-seater. In the Luge World Cup in Oberhof 1973, he finished eighth in the single-seater. Then Schönau joined the bobsleigh and ASK forward Oberhof. He went first with Horst Bernhardt, later with Raimund Bethge. At the Olympic Games 1976 in Innsbruck, he finished with Bethge in the two- seventh. In the four-man Schönau, Bernhardt, Harald Seifert and Bethge drove to fourth place. Bethge then moved to the Bob Meinhard taker and for him came Bogdan Musiol in Schönaus Bob. When Bobweltmeisterschaft 1978 in Lake Placid Schönau, Bernhardt, Seifert and Musiol won the title after Schönau and Seifert had previously become European champions in two-man bob. In the four-man Schönau occupied in 1978 and 1979 respectively to the third place at the European Championship.

The 1980 Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid, where Schoenau took up with a new crew. Schönau, Roland Wetzig, Detlef Richter and Andreas Kirchner together won the bronze medal. 1981 brought Schönau and Kirchner in the two-man bob World Cup silver behind the Bob Bernhard Germeshausen 1982 they finished as the best DDR Bob in third place behind two bobs from Switzerland. At the European Championships in 1981 Schoenau took second place in the four-man, 1982, he won together with Andreas Kirchner silver in two-man bob. Horst Schönau was 1976-1979 and 1981-1983 GDR champion in the two-.

The trained locksmith reached with the NVA to the rank of lieutenant and worked after his career at ASK Oberhof. After the turn, he was with the water in his hometown of Walter Hausen.