Sigulda bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
Encyclopedia
The Sigulda bobsleigh
, luge
, and skeleton
track is located in Sigulda
, Latvia
. Currently, the track manager is Dainis Dukurs, former bobsleigh brakeman and the father of skeleton racers Martins
and Tomass Dukurs
.
venues were held near the track following World War II
. By the late 1960s, the city government of Sigulda approved construction of a new track, which was finally completed in 1986. It was built for the needs of Soviet
bobsledders and luge
rs. Although skeleton wasn't initially in the building plan, Sigulda has hosted World Cup races in skeleton in the 2000s. Also, luge competitions are hosted in Sigulda each year, however, the track can't host four-man bobsleigh races, therefore there haven't been any Bobsleigh World Cup or World Championship races hosted in Sigulda. Zintis Ekmanis
and the original track designer has designed a new layout which would change two curves and make four-man bobsleigh races possible, though lugers are not happy with this idea because this may render the track unusable for women's singles and men's doubles lugers. Also, Dainis Dukurs has said in an interview for Sporta Avīze that there was an experiment involving Juris Šics
, Andris Šics
, Tomass Dukurs
and Martins Dukurs
, in which the quartet drove with a four-man bobsleigh without crashing. Dukurs stated that this proves that the track is, in fact, suitable for four-man teams, but to make it perfect for bobsleigh, most of the track should be rebuilt. Reconstruction is expected to be completed in 2010. Also, an artificial ice start estacade was built in summer of 2008.
No vertical drop, percent grading, or turn names were mentioned.
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
, luge
Luge
A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...
, and skeleton
Skeleton (sport)
Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding...
track is located in Sigulda
Sigulda
Other twinnings: Keila, Estonia chiatura Georgia-References:* , , , , , and -External links:*...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. Currently, the track manager is Dainis Dukurs, former bobsleigh brakeman and the father of skeleton racers Martins
Martins Dukurs
Martins Dukurs is a Latvian skeleton racer who has competed since 1998. He finished seventh in the men's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and second at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...
and Tomass Dukurs
Tomass Dukurs
Tomass Dukurs is a Latvian skeleton racer who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of fourth in the men's skeleton event at Vancouver in 2010....
.
History
Sledding took place in Sigulda as early as 1887. Several alpine skiingAlpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
venues were held near the track following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. By the late 1960s, the city government of Sigulda approved construction of a new track, which was finally completed in 1986. It was built for the needs of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
bobsledders and luge
Luge
A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...
rs. Although skeleton wasn't initially in the building plan, Sigulda has hosted World Cup races in skeleton in the 2000s. Also, luge competitions are hosted in Sigulda each year, however, the track can't host four-man bobsleigh races, therefore there haven't been any Bobsleigh World Cup or World Championship races hosted in Sigulda. Zintis Ekmanis
Zintis Ekmanis
Zintis Ekmanis is a Latvian-born Soviet bobsledder who competed from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the two-man event at Sarajevo in 1984.Ekmanis also won a bronze medal in the two-man event at the 1985 FIBT World Championships in...
and the original track designer has designed a new layout which would change two curves and make four-man bobsleigh races possible, though lugers are not happy with this idea because this may render the track unusable for women's singles and men's doubles lugers. Also, Dainis Dukurs has said in an interview for Sporta Avīze that there was an experiment involving Juris Šics
Juris Šics
Juris Šics is a Latvian luger who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at Vancouver in 2010 alongside his teammate, younger brother Andris Šics....
, Andris Šics
Andris Šics
Andris Šics is a Latvian luger who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at Vancouver in 2010 alongside his teammate, older brother Juris Šics....
, Tomass Dukurs
Tomass Dukurs
Tomass Dukurs is a Latvian skeleton racer who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of fourth in the men's skeleton event at Vancouver in 2010....
and Martins Dukurs
Martins Dukurs
Martins Dukurs is a Latvian skeleton racer who has competed since 1998. He finished seventh in the men's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and second at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...
, in which the quartet drove with a four-man bobsleigh without crashing. Dukurs stated that this proves that the track is, in fact, suitable for four-man teams, but to make it perfect for bobsleigh, most of the track should be rebuilt. Reconstruction is expected to be completed in 2010. Also, an artificial ice start estacade was built in summer of 2008.
Statistics
| Sport | Length (meters) | Turns |
|---|---|---|
| Two-man bobsleigh and skeleton | 1200 | 16 |
| Luge - men's singles | 1200 | 16 |
| Luge - women's singles and men's doubles | 988 | 13 |
No vertical drop, percent grading, or turn names were mentioned.
| Sport | Record | Nation - athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luge - men's singles | Start | Johannes Ludwig Johannes Ludwig Johannes Ludwig is a German luger who has competed since 1996. He won a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the FIL European Luge Championships 2010 in Sigulda.... - |
24 January 2010 | 4.285 |
| Luge - men's singles | Track | Albert Demtschenko Albert Demtschenko Albert Demtschenko is a Russian luger who has competed since 1992. A six-time Winter Olympian, he finally won his first medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin with a silver in the men's singles event... - |
24 January 2010 | 48.282 |
| Luge - women's singles | Start | Tatjana Hüfner Tatjana Hüfner Tatjana Hüfner is a German luger who is the current Olympic Champion and has competed since 2003. She won the bronze medal in the women's singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin... - |
15 February 2008 | 1.799 |
| Luge - women's singles | Track | Tatiana Ivanova Tatiana Ivanova Tatiana Ivanovna Ivanova is a Russian luger who has competed since 2000. She won the women's singles event at the FIL European Luge Championships 2010 in Sigulda.Ivanova finished 17th in the 2008-09 Luge World Cup.... - |
23 January 2010 | 42.679 |
| Luge - men's doubles | Start | - Patric Leitner Patric Leitner Patric-Fritz Leitner is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with Alexander Resch he won the men's doubles event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. They also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth... & Alexander Resch Alexander Resch Alexander Resch is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with Patric Leitner, he won the men's doubles event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. They also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth... |
6 December 2008 | 1.698 |
| Luge - men's doubles | Track | - Andreas Linger Andreas Linger Andreas Linger is an Austrian luger who has competed internationally since 2000. He and his younger brother Wolfgang began luging at a very young age, and did their first doubles run when they were 14... & Wolfgang Linger Wolfgang Linger Wolfgang Linger is an Austrian luger who has competed internationally since 2000. As young children, he and his older brother Andreas learned to luge on a former Olympic luge track, and at age 14 began competing as a doubles team for the first time... |
23 January 2010 | 42.172 |
Championships hosted
- FIL European Luge Championships: 1996FIL European Luge Championships 1996-Men's singles:Demtschenko is the first Russian to medal at the championships since the breakup of the Soviet Union in late 1991.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...
, 2010FIL European Luge Championships 2010The FIL European Luge Championships 2010 took place 19 - 24 January 2010 in Sigulda, Latvia for the second time, hosting the event previously in 1996.-Festivities:... - FIL World Luge Championships: 2003FIL World Luge Championships 2003The FIL World Luge Championships 2003 took place in Sigulda, Latvia. The team event was adjusted to one nation per team at these championships.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...
External links
- FIBT track profile - Click on video to show run down the track from a skeleton racer's perspective. Men's singles luge intersects with two-man bobsleigh/ skeleton part of the track prior to turn one while women's singles/ men's doubles luge intersect prior to turn four.
- FIL-Luge track profile