Lodovico Obexer

Lodovico Obexer was a renowned bobsleigh driver from Vipiteno, where the tradition of bobsleighing goes back to the 1910s despite the town not having a bob track. Instead, races were held on the road from the Monte Giovo Pass to Gasteig, a route that produced some outstanding bobsleigh pilots over the years. One of them was Obexer, who demonstrated his ability from the early-1920s.

As there were no real Italian Championships, and no Olympic trials at the time, the Italian bobsleigh team for the 1924 Chamonix Olympics was assembled purely based on hearsay and word of mouth, and the team was selected by Alberto, Conte Bonacossa, a pioneer of winter sports in Italy along with his brother Aldo. As Vipiteno was the birthplace of bobsleighing, Bonacossa selected Obexer to pilot Italia 1, with a crew made up of people from the town, along with Luis Trenker, from Ortisei, who in later years became a famous director and actor. Of the six teams that finished all four races at Chamonix, Italia 1 finished sixth and last in each race.