Singles, Women

Up to 1976, German speaking sliders, from Austria, East and West Germany and Italy had dominated luge. But in 1977, the Soviet Union became a new top nation in the sport. They had been training on the country’s only track near the Latvian town of Sigulda, and consequently most lugers from the USSR were Latvians. They especially came to the forefront in the women’s competitions. In 1977, Vera Zozuļa won a silver medal at the World Championships, upgrading her performance to first place the next year. At Lake Placid, she was clearly the best in competition, winning each of the four runs. Behind her, fellow Latvian Ingrīda Amantova battled with reigning World Champion Melitta Sollmann, Ilona Brand (both DDR) and two-time European Champion Elisabeth Demleitner (FRG) for the remaining medals. After three runs, Amantova and Brand were in medal positions, but both had a relatively poor final run, and Sollmann moved up to silver medal position, while Brand dropped off the podium.