The Women's singles

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

competition at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

in Grenoble was held from 11 to 13 February, at Villard-de-Lans. After three runs, there were three East German racers Ortrun Enderlein,

Anna-Maria Müller Anna-Maria Müller (later Murach, 23 February 1949 – 23 August 2009) was an East German luger who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. At the pr ...

and Angela Knösel in the top 4, but were disqualified when the FIL determined that they had been heating their runners, a banned practice. Italian

Erika Lechner Erika Lechner (sometimes listed as Erica Lechner, born 28 May 1947 in Bolzano) is an Italian luger who competed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, she originally finished third in the women's singles ...

, third after three runs, was moved into first place, and won gold after the fourth run was cancelled due to bad weather. West German media alleged race fixing, while GDR sports officials blamed the West German Luge Association for staging the incident.Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Olympischen Gedankens in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik: ''X. Olympische Winterspiele Grenoble 1968.'' Sportverlag, Berlin, 1968, p. 31 et seq. and p. 165. According to

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

documents which came to light in 2006, the FIL official that made the decision had allegedly been bribed by the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria to make the allegation.Friedhard Teuffel:
Schnee, der auf Kufen schmilzt.
' The question of whether the GDR lugers really cheated remains unresolved, with some contemporary media in Germany maintaining that the GDR team were unfairly disqualified.

',

'

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics - Women's singles Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics 1968 in women's sport

Luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...