Werner Hoeger
Werner Walter Karl Hoeger is a former luge athlete who competed for Venezuela at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics. His son is Chris Hoeger. He is a professor emeritus of exercise science at Boise State University and author of nine different "fitness & wellness" textbooks. He wrote a total of 70 editions of these books. He has been one of the most widely read fitness and wellness college authors in the United States. He was the first author to write a college-level fitness book to incorporate the wellness concept with the publication of Lifetime Physical Fitness & Wellness: A Personalized Program in 1986. His title Fitness & Wellness is a concise book for introductory courses and for the general public that provides the necessary guidelines to enhance health and quality of life through a comprehensive fitness and wellness program. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and also of the Research Consortium of AAHPERD. A gymnast in his youth, he later took up the sport of luge and participated in two Olympic Winter Games. Following his Olympic participation he turned his attention to racing in track and field, competing in three World Masters Track and Field Championships.
Academic and professional career
Werner Hoeger received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and his master's degree in Exercise Science from Brigham Young University at the young age of 20. In 1978, at 24 years of age, Hoeger earned his Ed.D. in exercise physiology, also from Brigham Young University. He then taught at the University of Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela from 1978 to 1982; served as Technical Director of Fitness Monitoring in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, from 1982 to 1983; and taught at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa from 1983 to 1986. He joined Boise State University in 1986 and retired from the university in 2009. He also taught for one semester in 2012, 2013, and 2016 at Brigham Young University Hawaii.Luge career
He took up the sport of luge five weeks before his 45th birthday. Competing in two Winter Olympics, Hoeger earned his best finish of 32nd in the men's singles event in Turin in 2006. At 52, he represented his home country of Venezuela in 2006. As their only athlete at the games, he carried their flag at the 2006 [Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony#Parade of Nations|Parade of Nations]. He was the oldest actual competitor at these games. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, competing alongside his son Christopher, they became the only father and son to ever compete in the same event in the Olympic Winter Games.Hoeger's best finish at the FIL World Luge Championships was 38th in the men's singles event at Nagano in FIL [World Luge Championships 2004|2004].
According to the New York Times, after experiencing a concussion Hoeger warned officials of the dangers of the luge track at the Vancouver Winter Olympics before the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili.