Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics – Women's singles

Women's singles
at the X Olympic Winter Games
VenueVillard-de-Lans
Dates11–13 February
Competitors26 from 10 nations
Winning time2:28.66
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Erika Lechner  Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Christa Schmuck  West Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Angelika Dünhaupt  West Germany
← 1964
1972 →
Luge at the
1968 Winter Olympics
Singlesmenwomen
Doublesmen

The Women's singles luge competition at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble was held from 11 to 13 February, at Villard-de-Lans.[1][2]

After three runs, there were three East German racers Ortrun Enderlein, Anna-Maria Müller and Angela Knösel in the top 4, but they were disqualified when the FIL determined that they had been heating their runners, a banned practice. Italian Erika Lechner, third after three runs, was moved into first place, and won gold after the fourth run was cancelled due to bad weather.

West German media alleged race fixing,[3] while GDR sports officials blamed the West German Luge Association for staging the incident.[4] According to Stasi documents which came to light in 2006, the FIL official who made the decision had allegedly been bribed by the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria to make the allegation.[5][6] The question of whether the GDR lugers really cheated remains unresolved, with some contemporary media in Germany maintaining that the GDR team were unfairly disqualified.[7]

Results

Rank[1] Athlete Country Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Total
1st place, gold medalist(s) Erika Lechner  Italy 48.76 49.39 50.51 2:28.66
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Christa Schmuck  West Germany 49.15 49.84 50.38 2:29.37
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Angelika Dünhaupt  West Germany 49.34 49.88 50.34 2:29.56
4 Helena Macher  Poland 49.55 50.02 50.48 2:30.05
5 Jadwiga Damse  Poland 49.64 50.43 50.08 2:30.15
6 Dana Beldová-Spálenská  Czechoslovakia 49.22 50.36 50.77 2:30.35
7 Anna Mąka  Poland 49.69 50.05 50.66 2:30.40
8 Ute Gähler  West Germany 49.78 49.93 50.71 2:30.42
9 Leni Thurner  Austria 49.64 50.15 50.71 2:30.50
10 Marlene Korthals  Austria 49.72 50.31 51.30 2:31.33
11 Olina Hátlová-Tylová  Czechoslovakia 50.16 50.35 51.14 2:31.65
12 Linda Crutchfield-Bocock  Canada 50.64 50.54 51.28 2:32.46
13 Berit Salomonsson  Sweden 50.89 51.35 51.31 2:33.55
14 Kathleen Ann Roberts-Homstad  United States 50.62 51.04 51.94 2:33.60
15 Elfriede Wäger  Austria 51.93 50.44 52.04 2:34.41
16 Ellen Williams  United States 51.67 51.09 52.39 2:35.15
17 Sheila Johansen  United States 51.21 51.90 52.36 2:35.47
18 Martha Diplock  Canada 51.94 51.51 52.03 2:35.48
19 Sylvette Grassi  France 51.85 52.08 52.55 2:36.48
20 Jacqueline Barasinski  France 51.96 52.39 52.44 2:36.79
21 Erica Prugger  Italy 61.90 50.91 51.40 2:44.21
- Ortrun Enderlein  East Germany 48.74 49.34 49.96 DQ
- Anna-Maria Müller  East Germany 48.88 49.26 49.92 DQ
- Angela Knösel  East Germany 49.12 49.65 50.16 DQ
- Cristina Pabst  Italy ? DNF - -
- Phyllis Walter  Canada DQ - - -

References

  1. ^ a b "Rapport Officiel Xes Jeux Olympiques D'Hiver 1968 Grenoble" (PDF). Comité d'organisation des Xemes jeux olympiques d'hiver. LA84 Foundation. 1968. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Luge at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games: Women's Singles". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ Der Spiegel 19 February 1968: DDR-Mannschaft: Graue Perlen.
  4. ^ Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Olympischen Gedankens in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik: X. Olympische Winterspiele Grenoble 1968. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1968, p. 31 et seq. and p. 165.
  5. ^ Friedhard Teuffel: Schnee, der auf Kufen schmilzt.
  6. ^ MDR: Betrug auf Kufen? – Der Skandal 1968 in Grenoble.
  7. ^ Rodel-Olympiasiegerin Müller tot (Focus). Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Gestorben: Anna-Maria Müller (Spiegel)