Lake Placid (pps) According to US luger Samantha Retrosi it is „one of the technically most demanding tracks world-wide.“ The 2006 Olympian is backed up by Germany’s luge idol Georg Hackl: “The track features rather unique and difficult passages”.
They both refer to the “Olympic Sports Complex”, situated at the foot of the Mount van Houvenberg. Built in 2000 to host the Goodwill Games, the venue will now see the 41st FIL Luge World Championships.
For the second time after 1983, World Luge Championships will be organised in Lake Placid in the US state of New York, venue of Olympic Games in 1932 and 1980. Back in 1983, however, the competitions were still carried out on the old track. The new artificially-iced track has already seen six events of the Viessmann Luge World Cup and features a length of 1,455 metres with 20 turns in the men’s singles. In the women’s singles and double-seater events, the lugers have to master 17 curves and a total length of 1,130 metres. The average grade amounts to 9.8 per-cent.
According to Georg Hackl, the key spots are the combination of curves eleven/twelve, the labyrinth as well as the straight which “includes two mini-curves” – similar to the oldest artificially-iced track in Koenigssee, Germany. The three-time Olympic and World champion has a special relationship with the track in Lake Placid. At the 2000 Goodwill Games, Hackl did not compete due to security worries because “of the poor ice configuration”. However, in the 2001-2002 winter, he then won the overall Viessmann Luge World Cup. And in the 2005-2006 winter, the last season of his career, he had to make his exit even before the start of the first competition because of an ankle injury he suffered in training. “A pity – I would have liked to compete in Lake Placid again.”
In the women’s singles, Germany’s Sonja Wiedemann still holds the track record – she clocked a time of 44.021 seconds on November 23, 2001. In the men’s singles, five-time World champion Armin Zoeggeler improved the record time of his compatriot David Mair to 52.443 seconds. Mair had won the Nations Cup on December 15, 2005, setting a time of 53.410 seconds. In the doubles’ events, Austria’s Olympic champions Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger improved the former record of Germany’s Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch (44.304 seconds achieved on February 18, 2001) to 43.997 seconds on November 16, 2007.
Olympic Sports Complex at a glance
men’s singles: length of 1,455 meters – 20 turns
women’s singles and double-seater: length of 1,130 meters – 17 turns
average grade: 9.8 per-cent
Track records:
women: Sonja Wiedemann (GER) 44.021 seconds (November 23, 2001)
men: Armin Zoeggeler (ITA) 52.443 seconds (November 17, 2007)
double-seater: Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger (AUT) 43.997 seconds (November 16, 2007)
