The Doubles

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

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

was held on 10 February, at

Sapporo Teine Sapporo Teine (サッポロテイネ) is a recreational center in Teine-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It comprises many facilities, such as the ski resort (with other facilities, besides ski), the Teineyama Ropeway, and the ''Sapporo Teine Golf Clu ...

. A malfunctioning starting gate cancelled the results of the first run.Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Luge (Toboggan): Two-Seater". In ''The Completed Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 173-4.

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, whose doubles team of

Paul Hildgartner Paul Hildgartner (born 8 June 1952 in Chienes) is an Italian luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals (Men's doubles: 1972, Men's singles: 1984) and one silver medal ...

and

Walter Plaikner Walter Plaikner (born 24 October 1951 in Kiens, South Tyrol) is an Italian former luger and coach of Austrian descent who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a doubles specialist, and competed alongside Paul Hildgartner ...

won the first run, protested to event officials the results should stand since all contestants had suffered equally, but to no avail. After the protest was denied, a rerun was ordered. Hildgartner and Plaikner won the first run of the rerun event while the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

team of

Horst Hörnlein Horst Hörnlein (also known as Horst Hömlein, born 31 May 1945 in Möhrenbach) is a former East German luger and bobsleigh coach who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and Reinhard Bredow won the gold medal in the men's doubles even ...

and

Reinhard Bredow Reinhard Bredow (also known as Reinhard Bredlow, born 6 April 1947 in Ilsenburg) is an East German former luger who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and Horst Hörnlein won the gold medal in the men's doubles event (shared with t ...

had the fastest second run.1972 Winter Olympics official report.
p. 495. Accessed 7 November 2010. The combined times were equal for the only time in Winter Olympic luge history. The

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation ( French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in ...

consulted with IOC President

Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...

on this matter, and gold medals were awarded to both teams as a result. By the time of the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

, artificial track luge would be timed in thousandths of a second (0.001) rather than hundredths of a second (0.01) in an effort to avoid ties.1976 Winter Olympics official report.
pp. 144-5, 147, 149-51. Accessed 7 November 2010. That would prove effective until the

FIL European Luge Championships 2008 The FIL European Luge Championships 2008 took place January 7-13, 2008 at the Cesana Pariol track in Cesana, Italy. The relay competition took the place of the team event that had been held at every European championship since 1988. This event had ...

Cesana Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, on the border with France. Cesana is a popular winter ski resort, being connected ...

, when another tie occurred.FIL European Luge Championships Cesana 12 January 2008 men's doubles results.
Accessed 7 November 2010. This tie was again in the men's doubles event and it again involved Italy and Germany (East and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

reunified in 1990) only this time it was for a bronze medal rather than gold.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics - Doubles Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics Men's events at the 1972 Winter Olympics