Seven Students to Compete in the Olympic Games in Rio
Out of the Lecture Hall, into the Olympic Stadium
Judo
Judoka Tobias Englmaier studies Mechanical Engineering. The 28-year old competes in the weight category up to 60 kilograms. From the town of Landsberg, Englmaier is a member of the TSV Grosshadern team. He already participated in the Games in London in 2012. In 2014 he won the German Championship in the adult category. In both the World Championship 2013 and the European Championship 2014, he and his team won the bronze medal. The preliminaries for his weight category will be held on August 6.
Sailing
Ferdinand Gerz sails in the 470 class. He is 27 years old and is studying towards a bachelor’s degree in Management and Technology. He too participated in the Olympic Games in London four years ago, where he and his bowman came in 13th. In 2015 he won the European Championship and in 2016 took 7th place in the World Championship. The preliminaries in Gerz’s category will begin on August 10.
Track and field
Track and field athlete Christina Hering (21) will compete in Rio in the 800-meter run. At TUM she is studying towards a bachelor’s degree in Sport Science. She won the German Championship in the 800-meter in 2014 and 2016; in 2015 she was the runner-up. At the World Championship in 2015, she made it to the semifinal. The women’s preliminaries in the 800-meter run will be held on August 17.
Cycling
Cyclist Claudia Lichtenberg has just received her Bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology and Engineering from TUM. She will compete in the women’s road race event on August 7. The 30 year-old has achieved her greatest international successes so far in stage races. She won the Tour de l’Aude Cycliste Féminin as well as the Giro Donne in 2009 as a member of the Cervélo-Lifeforce Cycling Team and the Giro della Toscana Femminile in 2013 as part of an American team. She participated in the Olympic Games in London in 2012.
Swimming
The two swimmers Florian Vogel and Philipp Wolf are pursuing their bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at TUM, training with the SG Stadtwerke München team. Vogel (21), from the city of Bayreuth, will be competing in the 400-meter freestyle in Rio (heat: August 6) and in the 4 x 200 meters freestyle relay (heat: August 9). Wolf, who is from the town of Weiden, will turn 24 years old during the Games in Rio. He has been nominated for the men’s 4 x 100 meters freestyle relay (heat: August 7).
Riding
In Rio, the eventer Ben Vogg will be competing for Switzerland. He is a Bachelor’s student of Mechanical Engineering at TUM. He is from Radolfzell and will turn 24 in early September. His brother Felix, who is an equestrian too, will also represent Switzerland. Both belong to the most successful Swiss equestrians. The competitions in Rio – which involve dressage, a cross-country competition, and jumping – will start on August 6.
A previous version of this article mentioned six students who would be participating in the Olympic Games. In our research we had unfortunately not yet come across Ben Vogg, as he will be competing for Switzerland.