# Franz Kapus
**Franz Kapus** (12 April 1909 in Zürich – 4 March 1981 in Zürich) was a Swiss bobsled pilot who won the gold medal in the four-man event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in [Cortina d'Ampezzo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cortina-dampezzo) at the age of 46, becoming the oldest man to pilot an Olympic gold medal-winning bobsled team.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) He competed at three Winter Games (1948, 1952, and 1956) and won one gold and three bronze medals at the FIBT World Championships.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 12 April 1909, Zürich; 4 March 1981, Zürich (aged 71)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) |
| Club | Zürcher Bob Club, Zürich; 188 cm, 92 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) |
| Olympic gold | Four-man, 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo, with Gottfried Diener, Robert Alt, and Heiri Angst; winning time 5:10.44 over four runs[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302) |
| Other Olympic results | Eighth in the four-man (1948), fourth in the four-man (1952), seventh in the two-man with Heiri Angst (1956)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) |
| World Championships | Bronze four-man 1950 (Cortina d'Ampezzo) and 1951 (Alpe d'Huez); gold four-man and bronze two-man 1955 (St. Moritz)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) |
| Age records | Oldest pilot of an Olympic gold medal bobsled (46 years 298 days); second oldest Olympic bobsled champion after 48-year-old J. J. O'Brien (1932)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) • [3](https://olympstats.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Bobsledding1.pdf) |
| Later career | Consultant on the Sapporo 1972 Olympic bobsled track; coach of the Japanese national team[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) |
## Early life and late start in bobsleigh
Kapus was a versatile athlete before turning to bobsleigh, competing in gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, and amateur boxing, and he worked as a mechanic by trade.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) He took up bobsledding relatively late, beginning his career at age 36 in the late 1940s.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
## Olympic career
**St. Moritz 1948.** Kapus made his Olympic debut at home in Switzerland, placing eighth overall in the four-man event with a crew of Bernhard Schilter, Paul Eberhard, and Werner Spring; his best single-race finish was third in the second run.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
**Oslo 1952.** Four years later, with Werner Spring, Felix Endrich, and Fritz Stöckli, he improved to fourth overall in the four-man, though he still could not finish better than third in any single race.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) In the years between the two Games he had taken bronze in the four-man at the 1950 and 1951 World Championships, racing with Stöckli, Heiri Angst, and the non-Olympian Hans Bolli.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
**Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956.** In 1955 Kapus finally won a world title, taking four-man gold at [St. Moritz](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-moritz) alongside Angst, Gottfried Diener, and Robert Alt, and adding two-man bronze with Angst.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) As defending World Champions, Kapus and the same Switzerland I crew entered the 1956 Olympic four-man race as favorites.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) The event was held on 3–4 February 1956 on the 1,700 m Pista del Bob at Ronco, with 16 curves, a vertical drop of 153 m, and 86 participants from 12 countries.[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302) After the first day, in which temperatures fell to −16 °C, four crews were still in medal contention, with Switzerland I and II leading.[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302) The decisive run was Switzerland I's third, more than a second faster than their rivals; Kapus's crew won gold with a total time of 5:10.44, taking three of the four race wins, while Eugenio Monti's Italian crew passed Art Tyler's American sled for silver.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302) Kapus also placed seventh in the two-man with Angst at the same Games.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
## Age records
At 46 years and 298 days, Kapus became the oldest man to pilot a bobsled to Olympic gold and the second oldest Olympic bobsled champion of either event, after the 48-year-old American J. J. O'Brien, who won the 1932 four-man title.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302) Olympedia noted that he retained both distinctions as of 2012, and the olympstats age tables still list him second among oldest male bobsleigh gold medalists behind O'Brien.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) • [3](https://olympstats.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Bobsledding1.pdf)
## Retirement and later work
Kapus retired from competition immediately after his 1956 Olympic victory and moved into coaching and sports administration.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) In the early 1970s he worked for the Japanese federation as a consultant on the construction of the Olympic bobsled track for the 1972 Sapporo Games, and he also served as coach of the Japanese national team.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775) He died in his native Zürich on 4 March 1981.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
## References
1. [Franz Kapus, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/87775)
2. [Four, Men, Bobsleigh at the 1956 Winter Olympics, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302)
3. [Bobsledding age records, OlympStats factsheet](https://olympstats.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Bobsledding1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Sliding sports › Bobsleigh › Bobsledders › Swiss bobsledders*
*Initially written Oct 20, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license