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The Igls bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton located in Igls, Austria (southeast of Innsbruck). The most recent version of the track was completed in 1975 and is the first permanent, combination artificially refrigerated bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track, serving as a model for other tracks of its kind worldwide.[1]
[edit] History
In 1935, Igls hosted the two-man event of the world bobsleigh championships when the track ran from Römerstrasses to the Patscherkofel valley railroad station.[2][1] Several fatal accidents at the finishing curve occurred during competition, causing temporarily closure of the track until safety measures were introduced.[1] In 1960, Innsbruck was awarded the 1964 Winter Olympics which led to the construction of separate bobsleigh and luge tracks for the games.[3] Track construction began in September 1961 and was officially completed in July 1963 following test runs of both tracks, including twenty injuries during the 1963 FIBT World Championships on the bobsleigh track.[3][4] When Denver, Colorado in the United States withdrew in 1972 after being awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics two years earlier for financial reasons, the International Olympic Committee offered the games to 1976 runner-up Whistler, British Columbia in Canada (northeast of Vancouver), but Whistler declined in the wake of the provinical elections in 1972. As a result, the IOC gave the games to Innsbruck. Construction on a new, combined track was started in 1973 under the auspices of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) and completed the following year.[1][5]. The track was praised by the FIL during testing in 1975 [6] and proved so successful that it fostered a commission with the FIBT and the FIL on construction of combonation tracks in 1977 that continues to this day[7] (A recent example of this was the homologation issue at Cesana Pariol prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics in 2005 following the FIL homologation concerns earlier that year which was approved in late 2005.[8][9]). The track added a restaurant and was extended in 1981.[1] In 1990-1, the ladies start house at the fifth turn was renovated and the finishing stretch was extended in 1998. [1] The track was part of the OlympiaWorld-Innsbruck in 2004, the same year a general refurbishment was done on the concrete shell. [1] Today, it serves as a training facility for new bobsledders and skeleton racers.[10]
[edit] Statistics
Modern track
| Sport[1][5] |
Length of track (meters) |
Number of turns |
Grade |
| Bobsleigh, skeleton, and Luge - men's singles |
1270 |
14 |
14 |
| Luge - women's singles & men's doubles[11][5] |
870 |
10 |
8.5% |
The track has a vertical drop of 98.1 meters.[10]
The 1964 Winter Olympic bobsleigh track, designed by former bobsledder and luger Paul Aste, consisted of 14 turns with a total length of 1506.36 meters, a vertical drop of 138 meters, and a maximum grade of 14.04%.[3]
1964 bobsleigh track turns[3][4]
| Turn Number |
Name (German) |
Translated name |
| 1. |
Startkurve |
"Start curve" |
| 2., 3. |
Hohes S |
"High S" curves |
| 4. |
Stützenkurve |
"Support curve" |
| 5. |
Höcker |
"Peak" curve |
| 6. |
Fuchsloch |
"Fox hole" |
| 7. |
Hohle Gasses |
"Hollow lane" |
| 8. |
Schanze |
"Dig" |
| 9. |
Hexenkessel |
"Witch's pot" |
| 10. - 11. |
Nadelöhr |
"Needle-eye" S curves |
| 12. |
Burlepautz |
|
| 13. |
Weckauf |
"Wake on" |
| 14. |
Zielkurve |
"Finish curve" |
The 1964 Winter Olympic luge track, designed by former bobsledder and luger Paul Aste, consisted of 18 turns with a total length of 1063.76 meters for men singles and a vertical drop of 113.20 meters, and a maximum grade of 18.18%.[3] For women's singles and men's doubles, the length was 910.00 meters with a vertical drop of 86.27 meters[3]
1964 luge track turns[3]
| Turn Number |
Name (German) |
Translated name |
| 1. |
Startkurve |
|
| 2., 3. |
Labyrinth |
Two turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth) |
| 4. |
Waldkurve |
"Wood curve" |
| 5. |
Stoßwand |
"Impact wall" |
| 6. |
Gletscherblick |
"Glacier view" |
| 7. |
Hängematte |
"Hammock" |
| 8. |
Wasserschlupf |
"Water slip" |
| 9. |
Promenade |
"Promenade" |
| 10. |
Fuchsloch |
|
| 11. |
Koflkehre |
- |
| 12. |
Schoß |
"Shot" |
| 13. - 14. |
Mausfalle |
"Mouse case" |
| 15. |
Olympiakurve |
"Olympic curve" |
| 16. |
Wassertrog |
"Water trough" |
| 17. |
Zielgerade |
"Finish line curve" |
| 18. |
Zielkurve |
|
1976 combination track
| Turn Number |
Name |
Reason named |
| 4., 5., 6. |
Upper labyrinth |
Three turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth) |
| 7. |
Kreisel |
270-degree Kriesel (circular) curve |
| 11., 12., 13. |
Lower labyrinth |
Three turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth) |
Turns 1-3, 8-10, 14, and 15 have no names listed in the track diagram.[5]
[edit] Championships hosted
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h History of the Igls bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
- ^ a b Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931
- ^ a b c d e f g 1964 Winter Olympic Games Official report. pp. 40, 65, 69, 165, 178, 180. (German)
- ^ a b Time magazine February 15, 1963 article on the 1964 bobsleigh track competition that lead to safety changes on the track
- ^ a b c d 1976 Winter Olympics official report, pp. 143-5, 153, 186-7, 206-208. (English), (French), and (German)
- ^ "Luge and Olympism." December 1983. p. 854.
- ^ "Bobsleigh and Olympism." Olympic Review. December 1984. p. 1012.
- ^ FIBT, FIL, and TOROC meet to modify track for safety reasons
- ^ FIL approves track for use for the 2006 Winter Olympics
- ^ a b FIBT track profile
- ^ List of artificial tracks used - Click on Igls link for popup
- ^ From results shown from the FIL World cup event in Igls during December 15-16, 2007 shown from the live track results.
- ^ FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989
- ^ FIL European Luge Championships mens's singles results since 1914
- ^ FIL World Luge Championships men's single results since 1955
[edit] External links
- FIBT track profile - Click on video link for track. Luge - men's singles intersects with the bobsleigh & skeleton part of the track prior to turn one, then where luge - women's singles & men's doubles intersect with bobsleigh-skeleton prior to turn five.
- FIL-Luge.org track profile
- Official website (English) & (German)
Germany
Austria
Italy - Christian Oberstolz & Patrick Gruber
