La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

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The La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in La Plagne, France. The track was the venue for the bobsleigh and luge competitions for the 1992 Winter Olympics whose host city was neighboring Albertville.

Contents

History

View of the track's upper section Piste de bobsleigh de La Plagne.JPG
View of the track's upper section

In 1986, Albertville was awarded the 1992 Winter Olympics over Sofia, Bulgaria; Falun, Sweden; Lillehammer, Norway; Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy; Anchorage, Alaska, United States; and Berchtesgaden, West Germany. [1] The track was constructed from September 1988 to December 1990 designed for use in bobsleigh and luge competitions with the drivers in mind. [2] Ice team staff was recruited in August 1990 while the first ice test was performed in January 1991. [2] The first bobsleigh test event was in February 1991 while the first luge test event was in March 1991. [2] The track hosted the skeleton event of the FIBT World Championships in 1993. [3] Since the 1992 Winter Olympics, the track has been host to programs on bobsleigh rides performed by 1998 Winter Olympic medalist Bruno Mingeon. [4] The track was part of neighboring Annecy's bid package for the 2018 Winter Olympics which was submitted to the International Olympic Committee on 15 October 2009. [5]

Statistics

The track consists of 6,500 cubic metres (8,500 cu yd) of concrete cooled by 80 km (50 mi) of 10 cm (3.9 in) diameter ammonia refrigeration piping that can keep the track cooled to −15 °C (5 °F). [2] When water is applied to ice up the track, a total of 15 ice workers manually apply the water to generate ice up to a thickness of 4 cm (1.6 inch) that is kept at a temperature of -7 to - 10 °C (14 to 19 °F). [2] The outside of the track is covered with insulation and wood. [2] 40 km (25 mi) of electrical conduit connects the track from start to finish, including timing, television cables, computers, and sensors. [2] Technicians from the bobsleigh and luge track in Igls, Austria assisted the ice workers during production and maintenance of the ice for the 1992 Winter Olympics. [2]

Track lengths and turns

Physical statistics
Sport [2] Length of trackNumber of turnsVertical drop
(start to finish)
Average grade (%)
metersyardsmetersfeet
Bobsleigh and skeleton1,507.51,648.619124.54088.29
Luge – men's single1,249.501,366.4715110.62362.98.8
Luge – women's singles / men's doubles1,142.601,249.561492.24302.67.5

There are no turn names listed for the track.

Track records

Bobsleigh

SportRecordNation – athlete(s)DateTime (seconds)
4-manTrackFlag of Germany.svg  GermanyChristoph Langen / Marko Jacobs / Thomas Platzer / Sven Rühr 19 December 199857.31
2-manTrackFlag of Germany.svg  GermanyChristoph Langen / Thomas Platzer 18 December 199858.68
2-womanTrackFlag of Germany.svg  GermanyLaura Nolte / Deborah Levi 11 January 20201:00.67
MonobobTrackFlag of the United States (23px).png  United StatesKaysha Love 9 December 20231:03.79

Skeleton

SportRecordNation – athlete(s)DateTime (seconds)
MenTrackFlag of Russia.svg  RussiaAlexander Tretiakov 10 January 202059.28
WomenTrackFlag of Russia.svg  RussiaElena Nikitina 10 January 20201:01.35

Luge

Sport [6] RecordNation – athlete(s)DateTime (seconds)
Men's singlesTrackFlag of Austria.svg  AustriaMarkus Prock 11 December 199545.176
Women's singlesTrackFlag of Austria.svg  AustriaAngelika Neuner 10 December 199545.277
Men's doublesTrackFlag of Germany.svg  GermanyPatric Leitner / Alexander Resch 9 December 199545.022

Championships hosted

References

  1. Gamesbids.com archives of past awards of Olympic Games. - accessed January 30, 2008
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1992 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 92-95, 350-5. (in English and French) - accessed February 14, 2008.
  3. 1 2 FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989 Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Bobsleigh rides at La Plagne. Archived 2007-10-21 at archive.today - accessed February 12, 2008.
  5. Annecy 2018 bid presentation featuring La Plagne (p. 4) - accessed 17 October 2009.
  6. USALuge.org tracks. Archived 2011-03-03 at the Wayback Machine - Click on La Plagne, France track and scroll down for track records on luge track records. Accessed 14 February 2008.

45°31′18″N6°40′40″E / 45.52167°N 6.67778°E / 45.52167; 6.67778