List of Olympic medalists in luge

Four smiling people carrying medals around their neck are aligned shoulder-to-shoulder in an outdoor location with pine trees in the background. On the left, a man wears a shiny jacket and winter cap. Next to him, a second man with short dark hair wears a dark jacket with a badge. The third person is a woman wearing a jacket and an embroidered winter cap, and holds a trophy in her hands. The last person, on the right, is another man, also wearing a jacket and a winter cap.
Olympic medalists from East Germany at the 1988 Winter Olympics: Jörg Hoffmann (far left) and Jochen Pietzsch (second from left), doubles champions; Cerstin Schmidt (second from right), women's singles bronze medalist; and Jens Müller (far right), gold medalist in the men's singles.

Luge is one of the seven Olympic sports currently contested at the Winter Olympic Games.[1] It has been a constant presence in the Olympic program since its introduction at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria,[2] in the form of three events: men's singles, women's singles, and doubles.[lower-alpha 1] A mixed team relay event was contested for the first time at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[4]

History

German luger Georg Hackl is the overall medal leader in the sport, having collected a total of five medals (three golds and two silvers) in the men's singles, during the six Winter Games in which he competed (19882006).[5] Following his victory at the 1992 Winter Olympics, Hackl was the first male luger to successfully defend an Olympic title, in 1994.[5] By repeating this feat in Nagano 1998, he joined two other men (Swedish figure skater Gillis Grafström and German skier Ulrich Wehling) and two women (Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie and American speed skater Bonnie Blair) who had won the same individual event in three consecutive Olympic Games. Hackl was also the first-ever Olympian to win at least one medal in five consecutive Olympics.[5] This effort was matched by Armin Zöggeler of Italy, who won his fifth straight Olympic medal (bronze) in the men's singles at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. In 2002, Zöggeler outperformed Hackl and prevented him from reaching a unique fourth successive gold medal. Four years later, in Turin, Zöggeler became the second male luger to win back-to-back titles. Ten-time World Cup champion Markus Prock of Austria never fulfilled his success at Olympic level: in 1992 and 1994, Prock beat Georg Hackl to the World Cup title,[6] but ended up losing the Olympic gold medal to the German.

In the women's event, Germany's Silke Kraushaar leads the medal count with three, one of each color. Steffi Martin and Sylke Otto—at 36, the oldest female individual gold medalist at the Winter Games[7]—are the only lugers with two gold medals in their career. Ortrun Enderlein, representing the Unified Team of Germany, was the first woman to win the singles event in 1964. She was on the verge of defending her title at the 1968 Grenoble Games, having the best overall time after all the runs, but was disqualified together with fellow countrywomen Anna-Maria Müller (2nd) and Angela Knösel (4th) when it was discovered that the runners in their sleds had been illegally heated before the runs.[8] Müller made up for this by taking the gold medal at the following Games, in Sapporo, Japan.

The most successful pair in the history of the Olympic doubles event was Stefan Krausse and Jan Behrendt, who represented East Germany in 1988 and the reunified German Olympic team from 1992 to 1998, winning four medals: two golds, one silver, and one bronze. East Germany's Hans Rinn and Norbert Hahn, and Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, are the other pairs to have won two times, both of them in consecutive Olympics. In 1972, two gold medals were awarded to an East German (Horst Hörnlein and Reinhard Bredow) and an Italian pair (Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner), who finished with exactly the same time. To prevent similar situations in future Olympics, the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course introduced timing equipment that measured accurately to one thousandth of a second, to replace the old equipment that measured in hundredths of a second.[9]

As of the 2010 Winter Olympics, 117 medals (40 gold, 38 silver, and 39 bronze) have been awarded to 105 lugers (53 in the singles and 52 in the doubles) representing nine National Olympic Committees (NOC).[10] German lugers—representing the Unified Team of Germany (1964), West Germany (1968–1988), East Germany (1968–1988), and Germany (1992–2010)—have dominated this sport, collecting a total of 70 medals (27 gold, 22 silver, and 21 bronze).[10] There were seven occasions when a single NOC filled the podium with its athletes and in all of them they were German. After the Vancouver Games, Germany is the current medal-leading NOC in the sport with 31 medals (13 gold, 10 silver, and 8 bronze), surpassing East Germany's 29 medals.[10]

As the Italian luge team is completely recruited from South Tyrol, nearly all medal winners, except those from Soviet Union, Russia, United States and Latvia, are ethnically Germanic.

Medalists

Men's singles

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1964 Innsbruck
Thomas Köhler
 Germany
Klaus Bonsack
 Germany
Hans Plenk
 Germany
1968 Grenoble
Manfred Schmid
 Austria
Thomas Köhler
 East Germany
Klaus Bonsack
 East Germany
1972 Sapporo
Wolfgang Scheidel
 East Germany
Harald Ehrig
 East Germany
Wolfram Fiedler
 East Germany
1976 Innsbruck
Dettlef Günther
 East Germany
Josef Fendt
 West Germany
Hans Rinn
 East Germany
1980 Lake Placid
Bernhard Glass
 East Germany
Paul Hildgartner
 Italy
Anton Winkler
 West Germany
1984 Sarajevo
Paul Hildgartner
 Italy
Sergey Danilin
 Soviet Union
Valery Dudin
 Soviet Union
1988 Calgary
Jens Müller
 East Germany
Georg Hackl
 West Germany
Yuri Kharchenko
 Soviet Union
1992 Albertville
Georg Hackl
 Germany
Markus Prock
 Austria
Markus Schmidt
 Austria
1994 Lillehammer
Georg Hackl
 Germany
Markus Prock
 Austria
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy
1998 Nagano
Georg Hackl
 Germany
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy
Jens Müller
 Germany
2002 Salt Lake City
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy
Georg Hackl
 Germany
Markus Prock
 Austria
2006 Turin
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy
Albert Demchenko
 Russia
Mārtiņš Rubenis
 Latvia
2010 Vancouver
Felix Loch
 Germany
David Möller
 Germany
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy
2014 Sochi
Felix Loch
 Germany
Albert Demchenko
 Russia
Armin Zöggeler
 Italy

Women's singles

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1964 Innsbruck
Ortrun Enderlein
 Germany
Ilse Geisler
 Germany
Helene Thurner
 Austria
1968 Grenoble
Erica Lechner
 Italy
Christina Schmuck
 West Germany
Angelika Dünhaupt
 West Germany
1972 Sapporo
Anna-Maria Müller
 East Germany
Ute Rührold
 East Germany
Margit Schumann
 East Germany
1976 Innsbruck
Margit Schumann
 East Germany
Ute Rührold
 East Germany
Elisabeth Demleitner
 West Germany
1980 Lake Placid
Vera Zozulya
 Soviet Union
Melitta Sollmann
 East Germany
Ingrīda Amantova
 Soviet Union
1984 Sarajevo
Steffi Martin
 East Germany
Bettina Schmidt
 East Germany
Ute Weiss
 East Germany
1988 Calgary
Steffi Walter
 East Germany
Ute Oberhoffner
 East Germany
Cerstin Schmidt
 East Germany
1992 Albertville
Doris Neuner
 Austria
Angelika Neuner
 Austria
Susi Erdmann
 Germany
1994 Lillehammer
Gerda Weissensteiner
 Italy
Susi Erdmann
 Germany
Andrea Tagwerker
 Austria
1998 Nagano
Silke Kraushaar
 Germany
Barbara Niedernhuber
 Germany
Angelika Neuner
 Austria
2002 Salt Lake City
Sylke Otto
 Germany
Barbara Niedernhuber
 Germany
Silke Kraushaar
 Germany
2006 Turin
Sylke Otto
 Germany
Silke Kraushaar
 Germany
Tatjana Hüfner
 Germany
2010 Vancouver
Tatjana Hüfner
 Germany
Nina Reithmayer
 Austria
Natalie Geisenberger
 Germany
2014 Sochi
Natalie Geisenberger
 Germany
Tatjana Hüfner
 Germany
Erin Hamlin
 United States

Doubles

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1964 Innsbruck
Josef Feistmantl
and Manfred Stengl
 Austria
Reinhold Senn
and Helmut Thaler
 Austria
Walter Aussendorfer
and Sigisfredo Mair
 Italy
1968 Grenoble
Klaus Bonsack
and Thomas Köhler
 East Germany
Manfred Schmid
and Ewald Walch
 Austria
Wolfgang Winkler
and Fritz Nachmann
 West Germany
1972 Sapporo
Horst Hörnlein
and Reinhard Bredow
 East Germany
None awarded Klaus Bonsack
and Wolfram Fiedler
 East Germany
Paul Hildgartner
and Walter Plaikner
 Italy
1976 Innsbruck
Hans Rinn
and Norbert Hahn
 East Germany
Hans Brandner
and Balthasar Schwarm
 West Germany
Rudolf Schmid
and Franz Schachner
 Austria
1980 Lake Placid
Hans Rinn
and Norbert Hahn
 East Germany
Peter Gschnitzer
and Karl Brunner
 Italy
Georg Fluckinger
and Karl Schrott
 Austria
1984 Sarajevo
Hans Stangassinger
and Franz Wembacher
 West Germany
Yevgeny Belousov
and Aleksandr Belyakov
 Soviet Union
Jörg Hoffmann
and Jochen Pietzsch
 East Germany
1988 Calgary
Jörg Hoffmann
and Jochen Pietzsch
 East Germany
Stefan Krausse
and Jan Behrendt
 East Germany
Thomas Schwab
and Wolfgang Staudinger
 West Germany
1992 Albertville
Stefan Krausse
and Jan Behrendt
 Germany
Yves Mankel
and Thomas Rudolph
 Germany
Hansjörg Raffl
and Norbert Huber
 Italy
1994 Lillehammer
Kurt Brugger
and Wilfried Huber
 Italy
Hansjörg Raffl
and Norbert Huber
 Italy
Stefan Krausse
and Jan Behrendt
 Germany
1998 Nagano
Stefan Krausse
and Jan Behrendt
 Germany
Chris Thorpe
and Gordon Sheer
 United States
Mark Grimmette
and Brian Martin
 United States
2002 Salt Lake City
Patric Leitner
and Alexander Resch
 Germany
Mark Grimmette
and Brian Martin
 United States
Chris Thorpe
and Clay Ives
 United States
2006 Turin
Andreas Linger
and Wolfgang Linger
 Austria
André Florschütz
and Torsten Wustlich
 Germany
Gerhard Plankensteiner
and Oswald Haselrieder
 Italy
2010 Vancouver
Andreas Linger
and Wolfgang Linger
 Austria
Andris Šics
and Juris Šics
 Latvia
Patric Leitner
and Alexander Resch
 Germany
2014 Sochi
Tobias Wendl
and Tobias Arlt
 Germany
Andreas Linger
and Wolfgang Linger
 Austria
Andris Šics
and Juris Šics
 Latvia

Team relay

Games Gold Silver Bronze
2014 Sochi
 Germany (GER)
Natalie Geisenberger
Felix Loch
Tobias Wendl
Tobias Arlt
 Russia (RUS)
Tatiana Ivanova
Albert Demchenko
Alexander Denisyev
Vladislav Antonov
 Latvia (LAT)
Elīza Tīruma
Mārtiņš Rubenis
Andris Šics
Juris Šics

Statistics

Medal leaders

Athletes that have won at least two medals are listed below. Medalists are sorted first by the total number of medals, then successively by the number of gold, silver and bronze medals. If a tie is still verified, medalists are ordered chronologically by their first medal.

Men

Athlete NOC Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
Zöggeler, ArminArmin Zöggeler  Italy (ITA) 1994–2014 2 1 3 6
Hackl, GeorgGeorg Hackl  West Germany (FRG)
 Germany (GER)
1988–2002 3 2 0 5
Krausse, StefanStefan Krausse  East Germany (GDR)
 Germany (GER)
1988–1998 2 1 1 4
Behrendt, JanJan Behrendt  East Germany (GDR)
 Germany (GER)
1988–1998 2 1 1 4
Bonsack, KlausKlaus Bonsack  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1964–1972 1 1 2 4
Loch, FelixFelix Loch  Germany (GER) 2010–2014 3 0 0 3
Köhler, ThomasThomas Köhler  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1964–1968 2 1 0 3
Hildgartner, PaulPaul Hildgartner  Italy (ITA) 1972–1984 2 1 0 3
Linger, AndreasAndreas Linger  Austria (AUT) 2006–2014 2 1 0 3
Linger, WolfgangWolfgang Linger  Austria (AUT) 2006–2014 2 1 0 3
Demchenko, AlbertAlbert Demchenko  Russia (RUS) 2006–2014 0 3 0 3
Prock, MarkusMarkus Prock  Austria (AUT) 1992–2002 0 2 1 3
Šics, AndrisAndris Šics  Latvia (LAT) 2010–2014 0 1 2 3
Šics, JurisJuris Šics  Latvia (LAT) 2010–2014 0 1 2 3
Rinn, HansHans Rinn  East Germany (GDR) 1976–1980 2 0 0 2
Hahn, NorbertNorbert Hahn  East Germany (GDR) 1976–1980 2 0 0 2
Wendl, TobiasTobias Wendl  Germany (GER) 2014 2 0 0 2
Arlt, TobiasTobias Arlt  Germany (GER) 2014 2 0 0 2
Hoffmann, JörgJörg Hoffmann  East Germany (GDR) 1984–1988 1 0 1 2
Pietzsch, JochenJochen Pietzsch  East Germany (GDR) 1984–1988 1 0 1 2
Müller, JensJens Müller  East Germany (GDR)
 Germany (GER)
1988–1998 1 0 1 2
Leitner, PatricPatric Leitner  Germany (GER) 2002–2010 1 0 1 2
Resch, AlexanderAlexander Resch  Germany (GER) 2002–2010 1 0 1 2
Raffl, HansjörgHansjörg Raffl  Italy (ITA) 1992–1994 0 1 1 2
Huber, NorbertNorbert Huber  Italy (ITA) 1992–1994 0 1 1 2
Thorpe, ChrisChris Thorpe  United States (USA) 1998–2002 0 1 1 2
Grimmette, MarkMark Grimmette  United States (USA) 1998–2002 0 1 1 2
Martin, BrianBrian Martin  United States (USA) 1998–2002 0 1 1 2

Women

Athlete NOC Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
Geisenberger, NatalieNatalie Geisenberger  Germany (GER) 2010–2014 2 0 1 3
Kraushaar, SilkeSilke Kraushaar  Germany (GER) 1998–2006 1 1 1 3
Hüfner, TatjanaTatjana Hüfner  Germany (GER) 2006–2014 1 1 1 3
Martin, SteffiSteffi Martin  East Germany (GDR) 1984–1988 2 0 0 2
Otto, SylkeSylke Otto  Germany (GER) 2002–2006 2 0 0 2
Schumann, MargitMargit Schumann  East Germany (GDR) 1972–1976 1 0 1 2
Rührold, UteUte Rührold  East Germany (GDR) 1972–1976 0 2 0 2
Niedernhuber, BarbaraBarbara Niedernhuber  Germany (GER) 1998–2002 0 2 0 2
Erdmann, SusiSusi Erdmann  Germany (GER) 1992–1994 0 1 1 2
Neuner, AngelikaAngelika Neuner  Austria (AUT) 1992–1998 0 1 1 2

Medals per year

× NOC did not exist # Number of medals won by the NOC NOC did not win any medals
NOC 1924–60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 Total
 Austria (AUT)   3 2 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 2 1 19
 United Team of Germany (EUA)   5 × × × × × × × × × × × × × 5
 East Germany (GDR)   × 3 8 5 3 4 6 × × × × × × × 29
 West Germany (FRG)   × 3 3 1 1 2 × × × × × × × 10
 Germany (GER)   × × × × × × × 4 3 5 5 4 5 5 31
 Italy (ITA)   1 1 1 2 1 1 4 1 1 2 1 1 17
 Latvia (LAT)   × × × × × × × 1 1 2 4
 Russia (RUS)   × × × × × × × × 1 2 3
 Soviet Union (URS)   2 3 1 × × × × × × × 6
 United States (USA)   2 2 1 5

Medal sweep events

These are events in which athletes from one NOC won all three medals.

Games Event NOC Gold Silver Bronze
1964 Innsbruck Men's Singles  United Team of Germany (EUA) Thomas Köhler Klaus-Michael Bonsack Hans Plenk
1972 Sapporo Men's Singles *  East Germany (GDR) Wolfgang Scheidel Harald Ehrig Wolfram Fiedler
Women's Singles Anna-Maria Müller Ute Rührold Margit Schumann
1984 Sarajevo Women's Singles Steffi Walter-Martin Bettina Schmidt Ute Oberhoffner-Weiß
1988 Calgary Women's Singles Steffi Walter-Martin Ute Oberhoffner-Weiß Cerstin Schmidt
2002 Salt Lake City Women's Singles  Germany (GER) Sylke Otto Barbara Niedernhuber Silke Kraushaar
2006 Turin Women's Singles Sylke Otto Silke Kraushaar Tatjana Hüfner


See also

Notes

  1. Technically, the doubles event is considered a mixed event, open for male, female and mixed duos, but since its debut it has been traditionally entered only by male pairs.[3]

References

Medalists
Citations
  1. "Luge Equipment and History". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  2. Kubatko, Justin. "Luge at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  3. "International Luge Federation". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  4. "Luge: About discipline". sochi2014.com. Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Kubatko, Justin. "Georg Hackl Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  6. "Rodel Weltcup: 1977/78 bis 2008/09 Herren" (PDF). Official Website of the Fédération Internationale de Luge de course (in German). FIL. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  7. "Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. October 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  8. Kubatko, Justin. "Luge at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  9. "Preview: Doubles luge". Canadian Luge Association. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 Kubatko, Justin. "Luge". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2 April 2010.

External links

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