Winterberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
The Winterberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Winterberg, Germany. It is the only track of its kind in the world with a turn that has corporate sponsorship with turn seven being sponsored by Veltins, a German brewery which has its headquarters located in neighboring Meschede.
History
[edit]Completed in 1977, the track underwent a redesign of its start house area where the women's luge start house was moved from before turn four to near the men's luge start house prior to turn one in 2006.[1] This was done under the auspices of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) and included a completely covered sled storage area,[1] new changing rooms, and facilities for coaches and officials.[2] The women's singles luge start house was integrated near the men's singles luge start house during the construction.[2] The track hosted the first two-woman bobsleigh world championships in 2000.[3]
Statistics
[edit]| Sport[4] | Length | Turns | Vertical drop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh and skeleton | 1,330 metres (4,360 ft) | 14 | 110 metres (360 ft) |
| Luge - men's singles | 1,324 metres (4,344 ft) | 14 | 110 metres (360 ft) |
| Luge - women's singles | 1,293 metres (4,242 ft) | 14 | 110 metres (360 ft) |
| Luge - men's doubles | 945 metres (3,100 ft) | 11 | 90 metres (300 ft) |
The venue includes a maximum grade of 15% and an average grade of 9.8%
| Turn number[4] | Name | Reason named |
|---|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3 | Omega Kurve | After the Omega shape. |
| 7. | Veltins Kreisel | 270-degree Kreisel (circular) curve sponsored by Veltins, a German brewery located in neighboring Meschede. |
| 11, 12, 13 | Labyrinth (not listed on track map) | Three turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth) |
Turns 4–6, 8–10 and 14 have no names listed in the track diagram.[4]
| Sport | Record | Nation - athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh two-man[5] | Start |  Germany - Francesco Friedrich & Thorsten Margis
|
5 December 2015 | 5.05 |
| Bobsleigh two-man[5] | Track | Germany - Francesco Friedrich & Alexander Schüller
|
25 February 2024 | 54.39 |
| Bobsleigh four-man[6] | Start | Germany - Francesco Friedrich, Thorsten Margis, Candy Baur, & Alexander Schüller
|
10 January 2021 | 4.96 |
| Bobsleigh four-man[6] | Track | Germany - Francesco Friedrich, Thorsten Margis, Alexander Schüller, & Felix Straub
|
3 March 2024 | 53.11 |
| Bobsleigh two-woman[7] | Start |  Canada - Kaillie Humphries, Heather Moyse
|
12 December 2009 | 5.54 |
| Bobsleigh two-woman | Track | Germany - Laura Nolte & Deborah Levi
|
2 March 2024 | 55.75 |
| Luge - men's singles[8] | Start | Andi Langenhan - Germany
|
7 December 2007 | 4.536 |
| Luge - men's singles[8] | Track | Anton Dukach -  Ukraine
|
7 February 2015 | 52.037 |
| Luge - women's singles[9] | Start | Natalie Geisenberger - Germany
|
31 October 2009 | 4.915 |
| Luge - women's singles[9] | Track | Natalie Geisenberger - Germany
|
14 December 2008 | 56.192 |
| Luge - men's doubles[10] | Start | Germany - Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt
|
9 January 2010 | 3.616 |
| Luge - men's doubles[10] | Track | Germany - Walther & Grüneker
|
10 January 2009 | 44.106 |
| Skeleton - men[11] | Track | Marcus Wyatt -  United Kingdom
|
23 February 2024 | 55.26 |
| Skeleton - women[12] | Track | Kimberley Bos -  Netherlands
|
10 December 2021 | 56.70 |
Championships hosted
[edit]- FIBT World Championships: 1995 (bobsleigh),[13] 2000 (women's bobsleigh),[7] 2003 (women's bobsleigh), [7] 2015 (bobsleigh and skeleton)
- FIL European Luge Championships: 1982, 1992, 2000, 2006[14]
- FIL World Luge Championships: 1989, 1991, 2019[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b New start area for the luge and bobsleigh track in Winterberg. at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (14 September 2006 article accessed 20 February 2008.)
- ^ a b A lot is being done at the world's artificially-iced tracks. at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (23 November 2006 article accessed 20 February 2008.)
- ^ List of two-woman bobsleigh championship medalists since 2000.
- ^ a b c Track information (in German) - accessed 20 February 2008.
- ^ a b "BMW IBSF World Championships Bob & Skeleton 2024" (PDF). ibsf.org. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ a b "BMW IBSF World Championships Bob & Skeleton 2024" (PDF). ibsf.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Humphries and Moyse smash bobsleigh start records". CAAWS. (accessed 2 January 2010)
- ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Winterberg 9 January 2010 men's singles results. - accessed 9 January 2010.
- ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Winterberg 10 January 2010 women's singles results. - accessed 10 January 2010.
- ^ a b FIL Luge World Cup Winterberg 9 January 2010 doubles results. - accessed 9 January 2010.
- ^ "BMW IBSF World Championships Bob & Skeleton 2024" (PDF). ibsf.org. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Skeletonster Bos schrijft historie in Winterberg met eerste wereldbekerzege". 10 December 2021.
- ^ List of two-man bobsleigh championship medalists since 1931.
- ^ List of men's singles luge European championship medalists since 1914
- ^ List of Men's singles luge World championship medalists since 1955
External links
[edit]- BSD-portal.de track profile (in German)
- FIBT track profile Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine - Click on video to ride down the track. Men's and women's singles luge will intersect with the bobsleigh and skeleton part of the track prior to turn one while men's doubles luge will intersect with the track prior to turn four.
- FIL-Luge track profile
- Official website (in English and German)