Robert Pipkins should not be confused with Diamond Pipkins.
| Robert Pipkins | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Sport: | Luge |
| Birth Date: | 23 February 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Buffalo, New York, United States |
Robert Pipkins (born February 23, 1973) is an American former luger.[1] He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics.[2] He was the first African-American to represent the United States in the luge at an international level.[3]
Pipkins was born in Buffalo, New York in 1973, and attended Drexel University in Philadelphia.[1] He took up luge in 1987, after his mother read about the sport and encouraged him to take part in the sport.[4] In 1992, Pipkins became the first American luger to win an international race,[5] when he finished first at the World Junior Championships.[1] He was on the US Luge Team from 1991 to 1998,[6] winning four back-to-back titles during that time.[1] [7]
At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Pipkins competed in the men's singles event, finishing in 21st place.[8] Two years later, at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, he competed in the same event,[9] this time finishing in 16th place.[10] He also tried to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics.[11]
In 1993 in Oberhof, Germany, Pipkins was attacked by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads.[12] [13] Fellow luger Duncan Kennedy came to Pipkins rescue,[14] helping him to get away.[1] [15] Following the attack, the United States Olympic Committee declared that Germany was "dangerous".[1] The Mayor of Oberhof also sent an apology to Bill Clinton, with those involved handed prison sentences.[1]