Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

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1973 East German stamp showing the Oberhof track used for the FIL World Luge Championships 1973.

The Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue used for bobsled, luge and skeleton located in Oberhof, Germany.

Contents

[edit] History

Oberhof had been the home of sledding activities since 1905, mostly bobsleigh. [1] In 1931, the facility hosted the first ever FIBT World Championships in the two-man bobsleigh event won by the two-man German team of Hanns Killian and Sebastian Huber.[2] After World War II, Oberhof was partitioned into East Germany. Following the successes of the East Germans at the FIL World Luge Championships during the 1960s with Thomas Köhler (men's singles world champion in 1962 and 1967, men's doubles world champion in 1965 and 1967), Ilse Geisler (women's singles world champion in 1962 and 1963), Ortrun Enderlein (women's singles world champion in 1965 and 1967), Petra Tierlich (women's singles world champion in 1969, Wolfgang Scheidel (men's doubles world champion in 1965), and Klaus Bonsack (men's doubles world champion in 1967), the East German government decided it was time to construct a permanent, artificially refrigerated reinforced concrete track for year-round training and usage. [3][4][5] In 1966, East Germany was awarded the FIL World Luge Championships in Friedrichroda (misspelled as Friedrichsroda), but the event was cancelled.[6]The success of the first permanent bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Königssee, West Germany, completed in 1968 and first used for the world luge championships the following year, also played a factor.[7][8] In 1969, it was decided to construct a permanent facility in Oberhof.[9] The track was completed in 1971 with a World Cup test taking place the following year. [9] Since then the track has hosted World Cup events, mostly in luge though it has hosted events in bobsleigh (1974 in two-man) and skeleton (1993). [9] Oberhof has also undergone three track renovations, the first in 1996 where it was closed from April to October for a total reconstruction, a second in 2002 when a new ammonia refrigeration system was installed and turn 14 was modified for safety reason, and a third in 2006 when new start houses were built for both men and women, and turn 7's profile was modified for safety reasons.[9] The most recent cost to renovate the track was €4 million.[10]

[edit] Statistics

Overall track length is 1354.5 meters.[11] The venue includes a vertical drop of 96.37 meters from start to finish.

Physical statistics
Sport Length (meters) Turns
Two-man bobsleigh, men's skeleton, men's singles luge[12] 1069.70 15
Women's skeleton and luge - women's singles and men's doubles[12] 945.60 12

The only named curves are the "S-Kombination" (German for "S Combination") which are turns seven through ten and the "Ziel Kurve" (German for "Finish Curve") is turn fifteen, a Kriesel (or circular) curve.[12][11]

Track records
Sport Record Nation - athlete(s) Date Time (seconds)
Bobsleigh two-man[12] Track  East Germany - Wolfgang Hoppe & Bogdan Musiol 1988 44.62
Luge - men's singles[13] Start David Möller -  Germany 27 January 2008 8.199
Luge - men's singles[13] Track Felix Loch -  Germany 27 January 2008 44.996
Luge - women's singles[14] Start Natalie Geisenberger -  Germany 25 January 2008 7.995
Luge - women's singles[14] Track Natalie Geisenberger -  Germany 25 January 2008 42.933
Luge - men's doubles[15] Start  Germany - Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt 17 January 2009 7.804
Luge - men's doubles[15] Track  Germany - André Florschütz & Torsten Wustlich 17 January 2009 42.999

[edit] Championships hosted

[edit] References

  1. ^ Track data of Oberhof luge and bobsleigh (German)
  2. ^ List of Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931
  3. ^ a b Men's singles luge world champions since 1955
  4. ^ Women's singles luge world champions since 1955
  5. ^ Men's doubles world luge champions since 1955
  6. ^ "Luge and Olympism." Olympic Review. December 1983. p. 862.
  7. ^ "Bobsleigh and Olympism". Olympic Review. December 1984. p. 1011.
  8. ^ "Luge and Olympism". Olympic Review. December 1983. p. 853.
  9. ^ a b c d e History of the Oberhof track. (German)
  10. ^ World Championships entries: 21 nations - 42 men- 36 women - 24 doubles. at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (22 January 2008 article accessed 3 December 2009.
  11. ^ a b BSD track profile (German)
  12. ^ a b c d Official website track data (German)
  13. ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 17 January 2009 men's singles results. - accessed 3 December 2009.
  14. ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 16 January 2009 women's singles results. - accessed 3 December 2009.
  15. ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 17 January 2009 men's doubles results. - accessed 3 December 2009.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
List of bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks
Current artificial tracks
Former artificial tracks
Natural luge tracks

Coordinates: 50°42′47″N 10°42′32″E / 50.713°N 10.709°E / 50.713; 10.709

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