An Olympic Dream Realized

Werner Hoeger was a champion gymnast in Venezuela. When he won seven gold medals at the 1970 Bolivarian Championships, an official approached him about joining the Brigham Young University gymnastics team. Werner accepted the offer. After graduating, he returned to BYU as an assistant coach. He gained a testimony of the Restoration and was baptized in 1976.

Werner dreamed of becoming an Olympian, but Venezuela’s gymnastics team never qualified. Years later, while watching the 1998 Winter Olympics closing ceremony from his home in Boise, Idaho, he was surprised to see Venezuela’s flag. Carrying it was luge athlete Iginia Boccalandro Valentina, the first athlete to represent Venezuela in the Winter Olympics. Werner found her email address and contacted her. Iginia’s sister Maria recognized his name from his gymnastics career. “Get that man on a sled!” Maria said.

Werner and his children became the top racers at a beginners’ luge clinic that summer. Soon he and his son Christopher were competing internationally. Both qualified for the Olympics and represented Venezuela in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

Chris and Werner’s relationship and standards created many opportunities to teach others about the gospel. Their teammate Julio César Camacho began asking about the Church. Werner referred him to the missionaries, and Julio and his wife were baptized in 2001.

During the 2002 Olympics, Chris told reporters he would not be returning in 2006, choosing a mission instead. “As awesome as this is,” he said, “serving the Lord is more important.”