The FIBT World Championships 1981 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 for the seventh time, having hosted the event previously in 1937

FIBT World Championships 1937

The FIBT World Championships 1937 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and in St. Moritz, Switzerland . St. Moritz hosted the four-man event previously in 1931 and 1935.-Two man bobsleigh:-Four man bobsleigh:...

 (Two-man), 1939

FIBT World Championships 1939

The FIBT World Championships 1939 took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy . St. Moritz hosted the two-man event for the second time after hosting it previously in 1938, along with hosting the four-man event in 1931, 1935, and 1937. Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted the two-man...

 (Four-man), 1950

FIBT World Championships 1950

The FIBT World Championships 1950 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the third time after hosting the event previously in 1937 and 1939 .-Two man bobsleigh:-Four man bobsleigh:-Medal table:-References:**...

, 1954

FIBT World Championships 1954

The FIBT World Championships 1954 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the fourth time after previously hosting in 1937 , 1939 , and 1950.-Two man bobsleigh:Italy earned their first championship medals since World War II....

, 1960

FIBT World Championships 1960

The FIBT World Championships 1960 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the fifth time. The Italian city had hosted the event previously in 1937 , 1939 , 1950, and 1954...

, and 1966

FIBT World Championships 1966

The FIBT World Championships 1966 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the sixth time, having hosted the event previously in 1937 , 1939 , 1950, 1954, and 1960. The Four-man event was cancelled following the death of West Germany's Toni Pensperger during competition...

. Following the death of West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

's Toni Pensperger

Toni Pensperger

Anton "Toni" Pensperger was a West German bobsledder who competed during the 1960s. He was posthumously awarded a gold medal in the four-man event after he was killed during the event at the 1966 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo...

 at the track

Eugenio Monti track

The Eugenio Monti track is a bobsleigh and skeleton track located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It is named after Eugenio Monti , who won six bobsleigh medals at the Winter Olympic Games between 1956 and 1968 and ten medals at the FIBT World Championships between 1957 and 1966...

 in 1966, numerous safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...

 improvements were done at the track which were satisfactory enough for the FIBT to allow the championships

FIBT World Championships

The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 to be hosted. These improvements would not be enough as American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 bobsledder James Morgan

James Morgan (bobsled)

James Patrick Morgan, known as Jimmy, but nicknamed "Nitro" was an American bobsledder who competed from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...

 was killed during the four-man event. The death of a stuntman on the track during the first day of filming of For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only (film)

For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...

, done a week after these championships led track officials to shorten the track to its current configuration. Cortina would not host another championship until 1989

FIBT World Championships 1989

The FIBT World Championships 1989 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and St. Moritz, Switzerland . Cortina hosted the championships for the eighth time, having hosted the event previously in 1937 , 1939 , 1950, 1954, 1960, 1966, and 1981. Meanwhile, St. Moritz hosted a championship event for...

.

Two man bobsleigh

Pos	Team	Time
Gold	(Bernhard Germeshausen Bernhard Germeshausen Bernhard Germeshausen is an East German bobsledder who competed from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s... , Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt is an East German bobsledder who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s... )
Silver	(Horst Schönau Horst Schönau Horst Schönau is an East German bobsledder who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s... , Andreas Kirchner Andreas Kirchner Andreas Kirchner was an East German hammer thrower and bob pusher for record holder Wolfgang Hoppe who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s... )
Bronze	(Erich Schärer Erich Schärer Erich Schärer is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s... , Josef Benz)

Four man bobsleigh

February 8, 1981

Pos	Team	Time
Gold	(Bernhard Germeshausen Bernhard Germeshausen Bernhard Germeshausen is an East German bobsledder who competed from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s... , Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt is an East German bobsledder who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s... , Henry Gerlach Henry Gerlach Henry Gerlach is an East German bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 1981 and a bronze in 1983.-References:*... , Michael Trübner Michael Trübner Michael Trübner is an East German bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won the gold medal in the four-man event at the 1981 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.-References:*... )
Silver	(Hans Hiltebrand Hans Hiltebrand Hans Hiltebrand is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. He won five medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds and three silvers Hans Hiltebrand is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. He won five medals at the FIBT... , Kurt Poletti Kurt Poletti Kurt Poletti is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 1983 and a silver in 1981.... , Franz Weinberger Franz Weinberger Franz Weinberger is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won a silver medal in the four-man event at the 1981 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.-References:*... , Franz Isenegger Franz Isenegger Franz Isenegger is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a silver in 1981 and a bronze in 1982.-References:*... )
Bronze	(Erich Schärer Erich Schärer Erich Schärer is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s... , Max Rüegg Max Rüegg Max Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with a gold Max Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with a gold Max Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who... , Tony Rüegg Tony Rüegg Tony Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s. He won two bronze medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships, earning them in 1981 and 1982.-References:*... , Josef Benz)

Medal table

1		2	1	0	3
2		0	1	2	3