Track Portrait: “Fast and Historic” Inspires Sinaia’s Old Luge Track

Sinaia (FIL/28 June 2023) The former artificial track in Sinaia, Romania, was built between 1974 and 1976. It was 1500 meters long, has 13 curves and the difference in altitude between start and finish was 137 meters. The last luge race was held in Sinaia in 2006, after the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Former luge athletes like Ioan Apostol, Bogdan Macovei, the doubles' team Radu/Tican as well as current athletes Raluca Stramaturaru and Valentin Cretu learned, trained and competed on the track in Sinaia.

FIL Development Director Fred Zimny (USA) visited the historic track in Sinaia together with FIL Coach Bogdan Macovei after the FIL Congress in Bucharest and was enthusiastic: "For me, the old track is something very special. I don't know how I never knew this track existed until now. It 's located deep in the forests of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania and finding it in these remote woods is like an archaeological expedition. It's completely dilapidated and overgrown with trees, moss and vines. This once proud track is now slowly being reclaimed by nature. The size of the Communist-era structure is impressive and it has the unmistakable appearance of Soviet architecture. It is very, very long and has the biggest concrete curves, actually just walls, that I have ever seen on a luge track. For me, it was something very special to walk down this track and marvel at the extremely long straights and massive curves.”

In 1977, 21 artificial tracks and 63 natural tracks were available for international luge competitions in Europe, Asia and North America. Outstanding artificial tracks were Königssee (Germany), Oberhof (GDR), Igls (Austria) and Sinaia (Romania). The tracks at Lake Placid (USA), Winterberg (FRG) and Jeschken in the High Tatras (CSSR) were under construction.

In 1976, the European Junior Bobsleigh Championships were held in Sinaia. Unfortunately, the 1978 European Luge Championships had to be canceled due to lack of snow.

The track in Sinaia was the base for many successful athletes. All the children of the region had at least one ride on the artificial track. From 1990 to 2000 the track was used only from curve 5. From the top start it seemed to be too unsafe for the people in charge. In the winter of 2005/2006, the last national competitions took place in Sinaia. Since then, Romania hosts all luge, bobsleigh and skeleton competitions in other countries.

Raluca Stramaturaru, who finished sixth in the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup in the women's doubles last season, remembers fondly: "The most impressive thing about the track back then was the speed. Since we didn't have the equipment we have today and the track was built without machines, the high speed combined with the many bumps in the ice was a real adventure. For me it was a unique feeling to sled on the track in Sinaia".

Raluca's first contact with the Sinaia track was more than two decades ago. "I really had no idea about luge or sledding, I just wanted to get out of school and have fun. My first coach used all his skills to convince me to try again. At that moment I realized that maybe he saw something in me that made him want to keep me and encourage me. So in 1999, at the age of 13, I began a sporting journey that continues to this day".

"What makes the track in Sinaia special for me are all the memories I have accumulated over the years. I will never forget my first run on the track, how nervous I was and the relief I felt when I finished. But most important for me are all the people I met on the track .... it changed my life," said Raluca Stramaturaru, who was also an athlete's representative of the International Luge Federation for several years and competed in the women's singles and doubles at the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup last season.

"The track in Sinaia was very special for me," said Bogdan Macovei. "I got very melancholic when I saw how it looks like today. A lot of memories came back to me since I started luge. The first time I came to Sinaia for the national championships was in 1994 and I was surprised how big the track was, especially curve 13. After that, we trained on the track in Romania for one month every year. I remember there were a lot of young athletes racing and having fun. The last time I raced there was in 2006. I haven't visited the track since then, but this year I brought Fred to see it. I was sad to see what happened to the great artificial track and how bad it looks. I am disappointed because the Romanian authorities have not done anything about it. I know that Florian Ticu fought very hard to keep this track. But unfortunately the track has become what you see in the pictures. It's very sad.

Fred Zimny and Bogdan Macovei took these photos of the old luge track in Sinaia.