East German Alexander Szelig was first active in track and field and boxing, before he turned to bobsledding as a brakeman. He took part in four consecutive Olympic Games – 1988 with the GDR-team, and 1992-98 with the reunified German team in the four-man bob, winning a gold medal in 1994 with pilot Harald Czudaj, Karsten Brannasch and brakeman Olaf Hampel. For the former GDR he also won a silver medal at the 1990 World Championships.
Later for the reunified German team he collected two bronze medals at the World Championships in 1991 and 1995 in the four-man, and at the European Championships he won three gold medals in 1992, 1998, and 2002, adding two bronzes in 1995 and 2002. Szelig later became a criminalist.