Luge at the 1968 Winter Games: Previous Winter Games ▪ Next Winter Games
Host City: Grenoble, France
Venue(s): Luge Track, Villard-de-Lans
Date Started: February 11, 1968
Date Finished: February 13, 1968
Format: Three runs, total time determined placement.
Gold: | Erika Lechner |
Silver: | Christa Schmuck |
Bronze: | Angelika Dünhaupt |
The women's competition was overshadowed by a scandal involving three sleighers, two of them set to win the medals. Two of the three East German women, [Ortrun Enderlein] and [Anna-Maria Müller] were leading after three runs (the fourth was eventually cancelled) when they were disqualified for heating the runners of their sleds. This practice gives lugers an advantage, as the warm runners melt the ice of the track, resulting in less friction when going downhill. At luge's Olympic debut in 1964, heating of the runners was commonly practiced by nearly all competitors, but the International Luge Federation (FIL) had since forbidden this. At competitions, a technical delegate of FIL checked the sleds, measuring temperature of the runners by hand. However, after the first two runs, there were persistent rumours that the East Germans were nevertheless warming their material. This prompted the chief of the Jury, Poland's Lucian Świderski, to test the runners himself. Witnessed by team leaders of Austria and Italy, he concluded that the three East Germans, who were in positions 1, 2 and 4 after three runs, had heated their runners, and were to be disqualified. When the 4th run was cancelled due to the poor weather, this left the title to Italy's [Erika Lechner], ahead of two West German women.
Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | T | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erika Lechner | 20 | Italy | ITA | Gold | 2:28.66 | |
2 | Christa Schmuck | 24 | West Germany | FRG | Silver | 2:29.37 | |
3 | Angelika Dünhaupt | 21 | West Germany | FRG | Bronze | 2:29.56 | |
4 | Helena Macher | 30 | Poland | POL | 2:30.05 | ||
5 | Jadwiga Damse | 20 | Poland | POL | 2:30.15 | ||
6 | Dana Beldová-Spálenská | 17 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 2:30.35 | ||
7 | Anna Mąka | 19 | Poland | POL | 2:30.40 | ||
8 | Ute Gähler | 26 | West Germany | FRG | 2:30.42 | ||
9 | Leni Thurner | 29 | Austria | AUT | 2:30.50 | ||
10 | Marlene Korthals | 24 | Austria | AUT | 2:31.33 | ||
11 | Olina Hátlová-Tylová | 24 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 2:31.65 | ||
12 | Linda Crutchfield-Bocock | 25 | Canada | CAN | 2:32.46 | ||
13 | Berit Salomonsson | 16 | Sweden | SWE | 2:33.55 | ||
14 | Kathleen Ann Roberts-Homstad | 16 | United States | USA | 2:33.60 | ||
15 | Elfriede Wäger | 21 | Austria | AUT | 2:34.41 | ||
16 | Ellen Williams | 20 | United States | USA | 2:35.15 | ||
17 | Sheila Johansen | 21 | United States | USA | 2:35.47 | ||
18 | Martha Diplock | 26 | Canada | CAN | 2:35.48 | ||
19 | Sylvette Grassi | 18 | France | FRA | 2:36.48 | ||
20 | Jacqueline Barasinski | 20 | France | FRA | 2:36.79 | ||
21 | Erica Prugger | 22 | Italy | ITA | 2:44.21 | ||
AC | Cristina Pabst | 20 | Italy | ITA | DNF | ||
AC | Phyllis Walter | 20 | Canada | CAN | DQ | ||
AC | Angela Knösel | 18 | East Germany | GDR | [2:28.93] | DQ | |
AC | Anna-Maria Müller | 18 | East Germany | GDR | [2:28.06] | DQ | |
AC | Ortrun Enderlein | 24 | East Germany | GDR | [2:28.04] | DQ |