FIL Family Mourns The Loss Of Marianne Nachmann

The last medalist from the 1st Luge World Championships in 1955 has passed away

Berchtesgaden (FIL-Angermann/April 10, 2026) Marianne Nachmann of Rottach-Egern on Lake Tegernsee (Germany), the last surviving medalist from the first Luge World Championships in 1955, passed away on April 5.

The nearly 95-year-old had won the bronze medal at the luge world debut in Oslo, at that time still under her maiden name Bauer. The Austrian athletes who finished ahead of her, Karla Kinzel (gold) and Maria Isser (silver), had already passed away in 2018 and 2011, respectively.

Marianne’s husband, Fritz Nachmann (96), also stood on the podium in Oslo 71 years ago: he won bronze, too. But this was in the men’s doubles with his partner Josef Strillinger.

Marianne and Fritz Nachmann, who had been a respected restaurant-owning couple in their Bavarian homeland for decades, had been looking forward to their 69th wedding anniversary on April 6. But they were not granted this rare joy: Marianne passed away the day before, on Easter Sunday.

With great respect, the FIL family remembers Marianne Nachmann as a kind, modest pioneer of luge.

At the same time, our condolences go out to her family, especially her husband Fritz. The multiple world champion is now the last surviving medalist from the legendary first Luge World Championships in 1955—held on the Korketrekkeren track at Holmenkollen, which still exists today.

Text and photo: Klaus Angermann (ZDF-TV 1963–1998)