Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics – Women's singles

(Redirected from Sylvette Grassi)

The Women's singles luge competition at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble was held from 11 to 13 February, at Villard-de-Lans.[1][2]

Women's singles
at the X Olympic Winter Games
VenueVillard-de-Lans
Dates11–13 February
Competitors26 from 10 nations
Winning time2:28.66
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Erika Lechner  Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Christa Schmuck  West Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Angelika Dünhaupt  West Germany
← 1964
1972 →

After three runs, there were three East German racers Ortrun Enderlein, Anna-Maria Müller and Angela Knösel in the top 4, but they were disqualified when the FIL determined that they had been heating their runners, a banned practice. Italian Erika Lechner, third after three runs, was moved into first place, and won gold after the fourth run was cancelled due to bad weather.

West German media alleged race fixing,[3] while GDR sports officials blamed the West German Luge Association for staging the incident.[4] According to Stasi documents which came to light in 2006, the FIL official who made the decision had allegedly been bribed by the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria to make the allegation.[5][6] The question of whether the GDR lugers really cheated remains unresolved, with some contemporary media in Germany maintaining that the GDR team were unfairly disqualified.[7]

Results

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Rank[1] Athlete Country Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Total
  Erika Lechner   Italy 48.76 49.39 50.51 2:28.66
  Christa Schmuck   West Germany 49.15 49.84 50.38 2:29.37
  Angelika Dünhaupt   West Germany 49.34 49.88 50.34 2:29.56
4 Helena Macher   Poland 49.55 50.02 50.48 2:30.05
5 Jadwiga Damse   Poland 49.64 50.43 50.08 2:30.15
6 Dana Beldová-Spálenská   Czechoslovakia 49.22 50.36 50.77 2:30.35
7 Anna Mąka   Poland 49.69 50.05 50.66 2:30.40
8 Ute Gähler   West Germany 49.78 49.93 50.71 2:30.42
9 Leni Thurner   Austria 49.64 50.15 50.71 2:30.50
10 Marlene Korthals   Austria 49.72 50.31 51.30 2:31.33
11 Olina Hátlová-Tylová   Czechoslovakia 50.16 50.35 51.14 2:31.65
12 Linda Crutchfield-Bocock   Canada 50.64 50.54 51.28 2:32.46
13 Berit Salomonsson   Sweden 50.89 51.35 51.31 2:33.55
14 Kathleen Ann Roberts-Homstad   United States 50.62 51.04 51.94 2:33.60
15 Elfriede Wäger   Austria 51.93 50.44 52.04 2:34.41
16 Ellen Williams   United States 51.67 51.09 52.39 2:35.15
17 Sheila Johansen   United States 51.21 51.90 52.36 2:35.47
18 Martha Diplock   Canada 51.94 51.51 52.03 2:35.48
19 Sylvette Grassi   France 51.85 52.08 52.55 2:36.48
20 Jacqueline Barasinski   France 51.96 52.39 52.44 2:36.79
21 Erica Prugger   Italy 61.90 50.91 51.40 2:44.21
- Ortrun Enderlein   East Germany 48.74 49.34 49.96 DQ
- Anna-Maria Müller   East Germany 48.88 49.26 49.92 DQ
- Angela Knösel   East Germany 49.12 49.65 50.16 DQ
- Cristina Pabst   Italy ? DNF - -
- Phyllis Walter   Canada DQ - - -

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rapport Officiel Xes Jeux Olympiques D'Hiver 1968 Grenoble" (PDF). Comité d'organisation des Xemes jeux olympiques d'hiver. LA84 Foundation. 1968. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Luge at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games: Women's Singles". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ Der Spiegel 19 February 1968: DDR-Mannschaft: Graue Perlen.
  4. ^ Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Olympischen Gedankens in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik: X. Olympische Winterspiele Grenoble 1968. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1968, p. 31 et seq. and p. 165.
  5. ^ Friedhard Teuffel: Schnee, der auf Kufen schmilzt.
  6. ^ MDR: Betrug auf Kufen? – Der Skandal 1968 in Grenoble.
  7. ^ Rodel-Olympiasiegerin Müller tot (Focus)., Gestorben: Anna-Maria Müller (Spiegel)