Sigulda bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
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.
History
Sledding took place in Sigulda as early as 1887.[1] Several alpine skiing venues were held near the track following World War II.[1] By the late 1960s, the city government of Sigulda approved construction of a new track, which was finally completed in 1986.[1] It was built for the needs of Soviet bobsledders and lugers. 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 [2] 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 was expected to be completed in 2010.[3] However the idea was abandoned due to costs and uncertainty that such investment would pay off. The track will undergo major renovation after 2014 season.[4] Also, an artificial ice start estacade was built in summer of 2008.
Statistics
| Sport[5] | Length (meters) | Turns |
|---|---|---|
| Two-man bobsleigh and skeleton[5] | 1200 | 16 |
| Luge – men's singles[5] | 1200 | 16 |
| Luge – women's singles and men's doubles[6] | 988 | 13 |
No vertical drop, percent grading, or turn names were mentioned.[5][6]
| Sport | Record | Nation – athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luge – men's singles[7] | Start |  Johannes Ludwig (GER) |
24 January 2010 | 4.285 |
| Luge – men's singles[7] | Track |  Albert Demchenko (RUS) |
24 January 2010 | 48.282 |
| Luge – women's singles[8] | Start | Tatjana Hüfner (GER) |
15 February 2008 | 1.799 |
| Luge – women's singles[8] | Track | Tatiana Ivanova (RUS) |
23 January 2010 | 42.679 |
| Luge – men's doubles[9] | Start | Patric Leitner (GER) & Alexander Resch (GER) |
6 December 2008 | 1.698 |
| Luge – men's doubles[9] | Track |  Andreas Linger (AUT) & Wolfgang Linger (AUT) |
23 January 2010 | 42.172 |
Championships hosted
References
- 1 2 3 History of sport in Sigulda in English. – accessed February 21, 2008.
- ↑ "Latvijas kamaniņbraucēji kritiski vērtē ieceri pārbūvēt Siguldas trasi". TvNET. 12.03.2006. Check date values in:
|date=(help) (Latvian) - ↑ Discussion in eSports.lv (Latvian)
- ↑ http://sportacentrs.com/ziemas_sports/26022014-siguldas_trasei_lidz_nakamas_sezonas_star
- 1 2 3 4 Vietas.lv – Siguldas bobsleja un kamaniņu trase (Latvian)
- 1 2 FIL-Luge track profile
- 1 2 FIL European Luge Championships 2010 men's singles 24 January 2010 results. – accessed 24 January 2010.
- 1 2 FIL European Luge Championships 2010 women's singles 23 January 2010 results. – accessed 23 January 2010.
- 1 2 FIL European Luge Championships 2010 men's doubles 23 January 2010 results. – accessed 23 January 2010.
- ↑ Men's singles luge European championships since 1914. – accessed 7 December 2009.
- ↑ [http://www.fil-luge.org/News-Detail.155.0.html?&tx_ttnews[pS]=1149112800&tx_ttnews[pL]=2591999&tx_ttnews[arc]=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=303&tx_ttnews[backPid]=157&cHash=7238b97827 54th FIL Congress in Berchtesgaden.] at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (30 June 2006 article accessed 13 February 2008.)
- ↑ Men's singles luge World championships since 1955. – accessed 7 December 2009.
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
Coordinates: 57°09′08″N 24°50′19″E / 57.152211°N 24.838586°E