| Luge at the XI Olympic Winter Games | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | Sapporo Teine |
| Dates | 4–7 February |
| Competitors | 83 from 13 nations |
| Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Singles | men | women |
| Doubles | men | |
Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics consisted of three events at Sapporo Teine. The competition took place between 4 and 7 February 1972. [1] [2]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 |  Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (2 entries) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |
East Germany led the medal table with eight medals, including three golds. The only non East-German medal came in the doubles, where Italy tied the Germans, with both teams receiving gold medals. [1]
| Event [1] | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Wolfgang Scheidel  East Germany | 3:27.58 | Harald Ehrig East Germany | 3:28.39 | Wolfram Fiedler East Germany | 3:28.73 |
| Women's singles | Anna-Maria Müller East Germany | 2:59.18 | Ute Rührold East Germany | 2:59.49 | Margit Schumann East Germany | 2:59.54 |
| Doubles | East Germany (GDR) Horst Hörnlein Reinhard Bredow Italy (ITA)Paul Hildgartner Walter Plaikner | 1:28.35 [lower-alpha 1] | East Germany (GDR) Klaus Bonsack Wolfram Fiedler | 1:29.16 | ||
Thirteen nations participated in Luge at the Sapporo Games. Japan and the Soviet Union made their Olympic luge debut. [1]
Austria (8)
Canada (4)
France (1)
West Germany (10)
Great Britain (6) East Germany (9) Italy (9)
Japan (7)
Liechtenstein (1)
Norway (3)
Poland (8)
Soviet Union (7)
United States (10)
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Walter Plaikner 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. They won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Plaikner also competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, where he finished 11th in the doubles after suffering from a severe bout of flu. He retired from competition after the Games.
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The Doubles luge competition at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo was held on 10 February, at Sapporo Teine. A malfunctioning starting gate cancelled the results of the first run. Italy, whose doubles team of Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner 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.
