Is an East German former ski jumper who competed from 1977 to 1980. He won a bronze medal in the individual large hill competition at the 1978 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti
East German bob pusher for 17-time gold medal winner Wolfgang Hoppe who competed from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the four-man with a gold in 1984 and a bronze in 1980
First disabled person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. Founded the Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Whittaker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)