The Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track (sponsored name since 2020: LOTTO Thüringen Eisarena Oberhof) is a venue used for bobsled, luge and skeleton located in Oberhof, Germany.

History Oberhof had been the home of sledding activities since 1905, mostly bobsleigh.Track data of Oberhof luge and bobsleigh In 1931, the facility hosted the first ever FIBT World Championships in the two-man bobsleigh event won by the two-man German team of Hanns Killian and Sebastian Huber.List of Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931 After World War II, Oberhof was partitioned into East Germany. Following the successes of the East Germans at the FIL World Luge Championships during the 1960s with Thomas Köhler (men's singles world champion in 1962 and 1967, men's doubles world champion in 1965 and 1967), Ilse Geisler (women's singles world champion in 1962 and 1963), Ortrun Enderlein (women's singles world champion in 1965 and 1967), Petra Tierlich (women's singles world champion in 1969, Wolfgang Scheidel (men's doubles world champion in 1965), and Klaus Bonsack (men's doubles world champion in 1967), the East German government decided it was time to construct a permanent, artificially refrigerated reinforced concrete track for year-round training and usage.Men's singles luge world champions since 1955 Women's singles luge world champions since 1955 Men's doubles world luge champions since 1955 In 1966, East Germany was awarded the FIL World Luge Championships in Friedrichroda (misspelled as Friedrichsroda), but the event was cancelled."Luge and Olympism." Olympic Review. December 1983. p. 862. The success of the first permanent bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Königssee, West Germany, completed in 1968 and first used for the world luge championships the following year, also played a factor."Bobsleigh and Olympism". Olympic Review. December 1984. p. 1011."Luge and Olympism". Olympic Review. December 1983. p. 853. In 1969, it was decided to construct a permanent facility in Oberhof.History of the Oberhof track. The track was completed in 1971 with a World Cup test taking place the following year. Since then the track has hosted World Cup events, mostly in luge though it has hosted events in bobsleigh (1974 in two-man) and skeleton (1993).

Renovations

Oberhof has undergone four track renovations, the first in 1996 where it was closed from April to October for a total reconstruction, a second in 2002 when a new ammonia refrigeration system was installed and turn 14 was modified for safety reasons, and a third in 2006 when new start houses were built for both men and women, and turn 7's profile was modified for safety reasons. The cost of the 2016 renovation was €4 million. (22 January 2008 article accessed 3 December 2009. The track was again renovated in 2020 with improvements to the roof as well as redesign of many of the track curves and improvements to the starts and start houses.

Statistics Overall track length is 1354.5 meters.BSD track profile The venue includes a vertical drop of 96.37 meters from start to finish.

+Physical statistics Sport Length (meters) TurnsMen's singles luge, men's skeleton, two-man bobsleighOfficial website track data 1069.7014Women's luge and skeleton - women's singles and men's and women's doubles945.6011Junior's luge and skeleton665.407

The only named curves are the "S-Kombination" (German for "S Combination") which are turns eight through eleven and the "Zielkurve" (German for "Finish Curve") is turn fourteen, a Kreisel (or circular) curve.

+Track records Sport Record Nation - athlete(s) Date Time (seconds) Bobsleigh two-man Track - Wolfgang Hoppe & Bogdan Musioł 1988 44.62 Luge - men's singlesFIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 17 January 2010 men's singles results. - accessed 17 January 2010. Start David Möller - 27 January 2008 8.199 Luge - men's singles Track Felix Loch - 27 January 2008 44.996 Luge - women's singlesFIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 16 January 2010 women's singles results. - accessed 16 January 2010. Start Natalie Geisenberger - 25 January 2008 7.995 Luge - women's singles Track Tatjana Hüfner - 16 January 2010 42.920 Luge - men's doublesFIL Luge World Cup Oberhof 16 January 2010 men's doubles results. - accessed 16 January 2010. Start - Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt 16 January 2010 7.755 Luge - men's doubles Track - André Florschütz & Torsten Wustlich 16 January 2010 42.717

Championships hosted FIL European Luge Championships: 1979, 1998, 2004 and 2013. FIL World Luge Championships: 1973, 1985, 2008.

References

External links

Official website