View source for Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck

[[File:Wok WM 2006 SEAT-Hackl-4er-Wok-Team im Zieleinlauf.jpg|thumb|200px|Four-man wok racing at the 2006 World Championships held at the track. [[Germany]]'s [[Georg Hackl]] is among the four-man team on the track.]]
[[File:Kunsteisbahn Bob-Rodel Igls (Karte).png|thumb|200px|Track map]]
The '''Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck''' is a venue for [[bobsleigh]], [[luge]] and [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton]] located in [[Igls]], [[Austria]] (southeast of [[Innsbruck]]). The most recent version of the track was completed in 1975 and is the first permanent, combination artificially [[refrigeration|refrigerated]] [[bobsleigh]], [[luge]], and [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton]] track, serving as a model for other tracks of its kind worldwide.<ref name=history /> It hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions for the [[2012 Winter Youth Olympics]].<ref name=yog2012>[http://www.innsbruck2012.com/upload/multifile/1213882906.pdf 2012 Winter Youth Games venue listings in bid packages.] - accessed 2 June 2010.</ref>

==History==
In 1935, Igls hosted the two-man event of the [[FIBT World Championships 1935|world bobsleigh championships]] when the track ran from Römerstrasses to the [[Patscherkofel]] valley [[ÖBB|railroad]] station.<ref name=history>[http://www.olympia-innsbruck.at/OW_ENG/C/C520.php History of the Igls bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=bob>[http://sports123.com/bob/mw-2.html Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091333/http://sports123.com/bob/mw-2.html |date=2007-09-29 }}</ref> Several fatal accidents at the finishing curve occurred during competition, causing temporarily closure of the track until safety measures were introduced.<ref name=history /> In 1960, Innsbruck was awarded the [[1964 Winter Olympics]] which led to the construction of separate bobsleigh and luge tracks for the games.<ref name=owg64>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/orw1964.pdf 1964 Winter Olympic Games Official report.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207081931/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/orw1964.pdf |date=2012-02-07 }} pp. 40, 65, 69, 165, 178, 180. {{in lang|de}}</ref> Track construction began in September 1961 and was officially completed in July 1963 following test runs of both tracks, including twenty injuries during the [[FIBT World Championships 1963|1963 FIBT World Championships]] on the bobsleigh track.<ref name=owg64 /><ref name=time>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222103350/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829916,00.html ''Time'' magazine February 15, 1963 article on the 1964 bobsleigh track competition that lead to safety changes on the track]</ref> Prior to the start of the 1964 Winter Olympics, [[Great Britain at the 1964 Winter Olympics|British]] luger [[Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski]] was killed in a training run on the luge course.<ref>Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Luge (Tobaggan): Men". In ''The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 168.</ref> When [[Denver, Colorado]], in the [[United States]] withdrew in 1972 after being awarded the [[1976 Winter Olympics]] two years earlier for financial reasons, the [[International Olympic Committee]] offered the games to 1976 runner-up [[Whistler, British Columbia]] in [[Canada]] (northeast of [[Vancouver]]), but Whistler declined in the wake of the [[1972 British Columbia general election|provincial elections]] in 1972. As a result, the IOC gave the games to Innsbruck. Construction on a new, combined track was started in 1973 under the auspices of the [[International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation]] (FIBT) and the [[International Luge Federation]] (FIL) and completed the following year.<ref name=history /><ref name=owg76>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1976/orw1976.pdf 1976 Winter Olympics official report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226202233/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1976/orw1976.pdf |date=2008-02-26 }}, pp. 143-5, 153, 186-7, 206-208. {{in lang|en|fr}}, and {{in lang|de}}</ref> The track was praised by the FIL during testing in 1975 <ref>"Luge and Olympism." December 1983. p. 854.</ref> and proved so successful that it fostered a commission with the FIBT and the FIL on construction of combination tracks in 1977 that continues to this day.<ref>"Bobsleigh and Olympism." ''Olympic Review''. December 1984. p. 1012.</ref> (Known as [[homologation]], an example of this dual certification process occurred prior to the [[2006 Winter Olympics]], when adjustments to the track at [[Cesana Pariol]] were made following FIL concerns about the run.<ref>{{FIL-Luge link|url1 = http://www.fil-luge.org/News-Detail.155.0.html?&tx_ttnews|bracket1 = pS|url2 = =1117576800&tx_ttnews|bracket2 = pL|url3 = =2591999&tx_ttnews|bracket3 = arc|url4 = =1&tx_ttnews|bracket4 = tt_news|url5 = =687&tx_ttnews|bracket5 = backPid|url6 = =157&cHash=ca3dcc9348|title = FIBT President Storey and FIL President Fendt: "Olympic Track Summitt" in Berchtesgaden}} (6 June 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.)</ref><ref>{{FIL-Luge link|url1 = http://www.fil-luge.org/News-Detail.155.0.html?&tx_ttnews|bracket1 = pS|url2 = =1128117600&tx_ttnews|bracket2 = pL|url3 = =2681999&tx_ttnews|bracket3 = arc|url4 = =1&tx_ttnews|bracket4 = tt_news|url5 = =1350&tx_ttnews|bracket5 = backPid|url6 = =157&cHash=41a2dc6b38|title = 2006 Olympic Track in Cesana Pariol homologated by FIL.}} (31 October 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.)</ref>) The track added a [[restaurant]] and was extended in 1981.<ref name=history /> In 1990–1, the ladies start house at the fifth turn was renovated and the finishing stretch was extended in 1998.<ref name=history /> The track was part of the OlympiaWorld-Innsbruck in 2004, the same year a general refurbishment was done on the concrete shell.<ref name=history /> Today, it serves as a training facility for new [[bobsled]]ders and [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton racers]].<ref name=track>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719072922/http://fibt.pixabit.de/index.php?id=152&track_id=5&L=0 FIBT track profile]</ref> It hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.<ref name=yog2012 />

==Statistics==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Modern track
! Sport<ref name=history /><ref name=owg76 />
! Length of track (meters)
! Number of turns
! Grade
|-
|Bobsleigh, skeleton, and Luge - men's singles
|1270
|14
|14
|-
|Luge - women's singles & men's doubles<ref name=owg76 /><ref>[http://www.fil-luge.org/tracks/artificial-tracks.html List of artificial tracks used] - Click on Igls link for popup</ref>
|870
|10
|8.5%
|}

The track has a vertical drop of 98.1 meters.<ref name=track />

The 1964 Winter Olympic bobsleigh track, designed by former [[bobsled]]der and [[luge]]r [[Paul Aste]], consisted of 14 turns with a total length of 1506.36 meters, a vertical drop of 138 meters, and a maximum grade of 14.04%.<ref name=owg64 />

{| class="wikitable"
|+1964 bobsleigh track turns<ref name=owg64 /><ref name=time />
! Turn Number
! Name (German)
! Translated name
|-
|1.
|Startkurve
|"Start curve"
|-
|2., 3.
|Hohes S
|"High S" curves
|-
|4.
|Stützenkurve
|"Support curve"
|-
|5.
|Höcker
|"Peak" curve
|-
|6.
|Fuchsloch
|"Fox hole"
|-
|7.
|Hohle Gasses
|"Hollow lane"
|-
|8.
|Schanze
|"Dig"
|-
|9.
|Hexenkessel
|"Witch's pot"
|-
|10. - 11.
|Nadelöhr
|"Needle-eye" S curves
|-
|12.
|Burlepautz
|
|-
|13.
|Weckauf
|"Wake on"
|-
|14.
|Zielkurve
|"Finish curve"
|}

The 1964 Winter Olympic luge track, designed by former [[bobsled]]der and [[luge]]r [[Paul Aste]], consisted of 18 turns with a total length of 1063.76 meters for men singles and a vertical drop of 113.20 meters, and a maximum grade of 18.18%.<ref name=owg64/> For women's singles and men's doubles, the length was 910.00 meters with a vertical drop of 86.27 meters<ref name=owg64 />

{| class="wikitable"
|+1964 luge track turns<ref name=owg64 />
! Turn Number
! Name (German)
! Translated name
|-
|1.
|Startkurve
|
|-
|2., 3.
|Labyrinth
|Two turns in quick succession without a straight ([[labyrinth]])
|-
|4.
|Waldkurve
|"Wood curve"
|-
|5.
|Stoßwand
|"Impact wall"
|-
|6.
|Gletscherblick
|"Glacier view"
|-
|7.
|Hängematte
|"Hammock"
|-
|8.
|Wasserschlupf
|"Water slip"
|-
|9.
|Promenade
|"Promenade"
|-
|10.
|Fuchsloch
|
|-
|11.
|Koflkehre
| -
|-
|12.
|Schoß
|"Shot"
|-
|13. - 14.
|Mausfalle
|"Mouse case"
|-
|15.
|Olympiakurve
|"Olympic curve"
|-
|16.
|Wassertrog
|"Water trough"
|-
|17.
|Zielgerade
|"Finish line curve"
|-
|18.
|Zielkurve
|
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|+1976 combination track
! Turn Number
! Name
! Reason named
|-
|4., 5., 6.
|Upper [[labyrinth]]
|Three turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth)
|-
|7.
|Kreisel
|270-degree Kreisel (circular) curve
|-
|11., 12., 13.
|Lower [[labyrinth]]
|Three turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth)
|}
Turns 1–3, 8-10, 14, and 15 have no names listed in the track diagram.<ref name=owg76/>

{|class="wikitable"
|+Track records
! Sport
! Record
! Nation - athlete(s)
! Date
! Time (seconds)
|-
| Bobsleigh two-woman<ref name=2wb>{{FIBT link|url1 = http://www.fibt.com/index.php?id=88&tx_ttnews|bracket1 = tt_news|url2 = =1186&tx_ttnews|bracket2 = backPid|url3 = =2&cHash=bd7d16532b|title = Rohbock Wins Women's Bob Finale; Martini Takes European Crowd.}} (22 January 2010 article accessed 22 January 2010.)</ref>
| Start
| {{CAN}} - [[Kaillie Humphries]] & [[Heather Moyse]]
| 22 January 2010
| 5.50
|-
| Bobsleigh two-woman<ref name=2wb />
| Track
| {{USA}} - [[Shauna Rohbock]] & [[Michelle Rzepka]]
| 22 January 2010
| 53.47
|-
| Luge - men's singles<ref name=luge>From results shown from the FIL World Cup event during 28–29 November 2009 from live track results.</ref>
| Start
| [[Johannes Ludwig]] - {{GER}}
| 29 November 2009
| 3.865
|-
| Luge - men's singles<ref name=luge />
| Track
| [[David Möller]] - {{GER}}
| 29 November 2008
| 48.533
|-
| Luge - women's singles<ref name=luge />
| Start
| [[Tatjana Hüfner]] - {{GER}}
| 28 November 2009
| 2.003
|-
| Luge - women's singles<ref name=luge />
| Track
| [[Natalie Geisenberger]] - {{GER}}
| 28 November 2009
| 39.569
|-
| Luge - men's doubles<ref name=luge />
| Start
| {{AUT}} - [[Markus Schiegl]] & [[Tobias Schiegl]]
| 29 November 2008
| 1.927
|-
| Luge - men's doubles<ref name=luge />
| Track
| {{GER}} - [[Patric Leitner]] & [[Alexander Resch]]
| 28 November 2009
| 39.278
|-
| Skeleton - men<ref>{{fibt link|url1= http://www.fibt.com/index.php?id=88&tx_ttnews|bracket1= tt_news|url2= =453&tx_ttnews|bracket2= backPid|url3= =2&cHash=eb53fcfbd9| title= Rommel Overtakes Tretiakov in Igls Skeleton}}</ref>
| Track
| [[Martins Dukurs]] - {{LAT}}
| 3 December 2011
| 52.69
|-
| Skeleton - woman<ref name=skw>{{fibt link|url1= http://www.fibt.com/index.php?id=88&tx_ttnews|bracket1 = tt_news|url2= =448&tx_ttnews|bracket2= backPid|url3= =2&cHash=69be933c25| title = Rudman Wins Women's Skeleton World Cup in Igls}}</ref>
| Start
| [[Courtney Yamada]] - {{USA}}<br />[[Amy Williams]] - {{GBR}}
| 12 December 2008
| 5.33
|-
| Skeleton - women<ref name=skw />
| Track
| [[Shelley Rudman]] - {{GBR}}
| 12 December 2008
| 54.65
|}

==Championships hosted==
*[[1964 Winter Olympics]]
*[[1976 Winter Olympics]]
*[[2012 Winter Youth Olympics]]
*[[FIBT World Championships]]: [[FIBT World Championships 1935|1935]] (two-man), [[FIBT World Championships 1963|1963]],<ref name=bob /> [[FIBT World Championships 1991|1991]] (men's skeleton), [[FIBT World Championships 1993|1993]] (bobsleigh), [[FIBT World Championships 2000|2000]] (skeleton), [[FIBT World Championships 2016|2016]]<ref>[http://sports123.com/ske/mw.html FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111059/http://sports123.com/ske/mw.html |date=2007-09-29 }}</ref>
*[[FIL European Luge Championships]]: [[FIL European Luge Championships 1990|1990]]<ref>[http://sports123.com/lug/me-s.html FIL European Luge Championships men's singles results since 1914] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115212520/http://sports123.com/lug/me-s.html |date=2006-11-15 }}</ref>
*[[FIL World Luge Championships]]:<ref>[http://sports123.com/lug/mw-s.html FIL World Luge Championships men's single results since 1955] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218194001/http://sports123.com/lug/mw-s.html |date=2007-12-18 }}</ref> [[FIL World Luge Championships 1977|1977]], [[FIL World Luge Championships 1987|1987]], [[FIL World Luge Championships 1997|1997]], [[FIL World Luge Championships 2007|2007]], [[2017 FIL World Luge Championships|2017]]

==See also==
* [[Rodelbahn]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719072922/http://fibt.pixabit.de/index.php?id=152&track_id=5&L=0 FIBT track profile] - Click on video link for track. Luge - men's singles intersects with the bobsleigh & skeleton part of the track prior to turn one, then where luge - women's singles & men's doubles intersect with bobsleigh-skeleton prior to turn five.
*[http://www.fil-luge.org/filext/Track/igls_en.htm FIL-Luge.org track profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010723192345/http://www.olympia-innsbruck.at/ Official website] {{in lang|en|de}}

{{Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks}}
{{1964 Winter Olympic venues}}
{{1976 Winter Olympic venues}}
{{Olympic venues bobsleigh}}
{{Olympic venues luge}}

{{coord|47.22216|11.43004|display=t|type:landmark}}

[[Category:Venues of the 1964 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Venues of the 1976 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks]]
[[Category:Olympic bobsleigh venues]]
[[Category:Olympic luge venues]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Austria]]
[[Category:Venues of the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Tyrol (federal state)]]