FIL World Luge Championships 1955

The I. Luge World Cup took place in Oslo, Norway, on 5 and 6 February 1955.

A total of three competitions were held, two Einsitzerrennen - one for women and one for men - as well as a competition in doubles. While the individual competitions were held in four rounds, there were two runs for the double. This program changed to this day (as of 2010 ) only slightly by the introduction of team competition in 1989. The first world championship was the Norwegian Anton Salvesen, the Austrian Karla Kienzl and the Austrian double Hans Krausner / Josef Thaler. In addition to the two winning nations Norway and Austria, who won seven of the nine medals together, only the German athletes were able to secure two bronze medals.

The races were held on the Korketrekkeren (Eng. " corkscrewing " ) and were followed by 30,000 spectators. The railway was considered difficult because it partly artificial track, some had natural track curves, which made the view of the world champion Karla Kienzl a true " world championship course ." Added to this was that the athletes - due to cloudy weather - could train only little on the web. While the Central Europeans from the " toboggan Nations " Germany, Austria or Italy turned their sleds by shifting the body in the Norwegians to 1958 pinion steering was common. This had its advantages for curves with large radii and small slope, as was characteristic of the Scandinavian railways in the fifties. In contrast, the toboggan runs in Central Europe had already at that time closer and steeper curves.

Competitions

Single Seater Women

Date: February 5 (first to third round ), 6 February (fourth run)

The five post-war European Championships of years 1951 to 1955 all the titles and 12 of 15 medals at the Austrian athletes were gone. Were particularly successful Maria Isser and Karla Kienzl been. These two athletes also dominated in the first World Cup: Kienzl went on the first day of racing in all three runs fastest time and had to defend only in the last run its clear lead of several seconds to Mary Isser. In fact, the competition ended with a victory Kienzl who triumphed six seconds before Isser and had more than 15 seconds ahead of third-placed German Marianne Bauer. After the World Cup, the 32 -year-old Kienzl resigned because they saw Oslo as a "target a very wide sporting way".

Overall, the distances were very large in the twelve-member starting field. So had about Sixth, Barbara Polin Gorgon, more than half a minute behind the winner. The only Norwegian Liv Janner Storhaug fell after falling far behind and eventually finished in last place, behind her Karla Kienzl was almost a minute.

Single Seater Men

Much like their teammates, the Austrian men had taken the leading position in luge, since from 1951, regular European Championships were held. With one exception, they had won the continental title in each year, only 1952, the German Rudolf Maschke had been faster. Nevertheless, the men race developed into a much closer race than it had been in the women's competition the case. This was in particular the fact that the practiced exclusively by the Norwegians and pinion steering system worked particularly well on their home track, so they could keep up with the hitherto dominant Austrians. Accordingly, these two teams also featured nine of the ten best sledders; only the German Erhard Grundmann placed as seventh in between.

The battle between Norwegians and Austrians led to significantly smaller intervals at the top than in the women's race: The tenth -placed Mogán Christensen from Norway had only good 13 seconds behind his winning teammate Anton Salvesen. The 28 -year-old at this time Salvesen was little noticed until the World Cup at the international level, although he had several times won the Norwegian championship. As Karla Kienzl he also finished his career after the World Cup. Behind the Norwegian three Austrians were placed, of which Josef Thaler was the best. Josef Isser won as his sister Mary as a third medal, beating the four -time European champion Paul Aste, who finished fourth.

Two-seater

Also in the doubles, the Austrian athletes in the years before the first World Championship had dominated at the European Championships, all four possible titles and eleven of twelve medals duo had secured from the Alpine republic. For a feature already in the European Championship 1954, the double Josef Isser / Maria Isser had worried that was the first mixed gender duo won an international title. Even a year later, at the first World Cup, Maria Isser started again with her brother in the doubles competition.

In contrast to Einsitzerrennen of men, in which the Norwegians alike were good performances such as the Austrians, they were clearly the strongest in the doubles. After two runs resulted in two Austrian twin, separated almost two seconds of each other, the final standings, while third-placed German duo already had eleven seconds behind. The winners Krausner Hans and Josef Thaler before the two Isser - siblings, what medals five and six meant for the Austrian team. Ranked three Josef Strillinger and Fritz Nachman won the second bronze medal for Germany; behind missed on positions four to six three Norwegian double another medal for the host country.

Most starter in doubles were gone already Einsitzerwettkampf at the start, including with the exception of Hans Krausner all medal winners. Josef Thaler and Joseph and Mary Isser each won their second medal and were thus one of the most successful athletes in the first World Cup. The individual world champion Anton Salvesen was with his partner Alf Large, the Fifth of Einsitzerrennens, only sixth.

Medal Tally

Importance

Norway, which until then had been known for winter sports especially for the events at the Holmenkollen, taught with the Luge World Cup for only the second time a major event of this sport. In addition, it was the only World Cup, in which a Norwegian could win a medal. For the country, the event also a social significance occurred, such as the Norwegian King Olav V was personally present as guest of honor.

The Austrians lost after 1955 their supremacy in the sport of luge. Instead, the two German states came on for ever and were finally at the premiere of the Olympic discipline in 1964, the most successful nation. The four world champions of 1955, 24 years later invited on the occasion of the 20th World Cup in Koenigssee as guests of honor to present the new World Champions prices. In an issue of the Berchtesgaden Gazette from 1979 says about it:

" The first world champion: [ ... ] name, usually only the old sports Kamerade or some experts say something today. Unfortunately, because these pioneers of the sport of luge really do not deserve the " oblivion ". [ ... ] What joy triggered the invitation to Berchtesgaden at Karla Kienzl, Anton Salvesen, Hans Krausner and Sepp Thaler is hard to describe. And the proof of how right it was to show these lugers the first hour that they are not forgotten. "

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