One of the last products of the old East German sports system still competing, Voigt is the antithesis of the stereotypical robotic athlete who came off that assembly line. Born in a small town north of Hamburg, Voigt said he had a warm, communal childhood where doors were left unlocked and "everyone took care of each other." His father worked for a manufacturer of agricultural equipment.
Voigt was bored in school, and he speculates that today, he would be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Instead, his parents encouraged him to burn off energy in sports, and he tested off the charts for endurance potential. At age 14, he went to a national sports school in Berlin and spent the rest of his high school years building on his raw talent in cycling and track and field. He still holds a grudge against a high jump coach who dared to say he hadn't given his full effort....
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