Ernst Gebendinger took up gymnastics when he was 17-years-old, and was later on the Swiss national team from 1950-54, winning Olympic team silver in 1952 and floor exercise, vault and team competition golds at the 1950 World Championships. His international career ended quite abruptly in 1954, when he sustained a torn ligament and meniscus damage while preparing for the 1954 World Championships, held in Roma.
Gebendinger was trained as a machinist at the Jaeggli AG machine factory in Oberwinterthur. After graduating from Swiss Textile College in Zürich, he worked for two years as a weaver in Kaltenbrunn and then eight years as a weaver with Seidenstoffweberei AG in Winterthur. In 1964 he began work as a technical assistant at the Technical College Winterthur, now part of Zürich University of Applied Sciences, which he continued until his retirement. Gebendinger also remained active in gymnastics circles as a coach and later president of his club Turnverein Hegi, and also coached the Winterthur gymnastics team.
Switzerland