Erika Lechner (sometimes listed as Erica Lechner, born 28 May 1947 in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

) is an Italian

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r who competed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, she originally finished third in the women's singles event behind Ortrun Enderlein and Anna-Maria Müller (both from

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

), but was awarded the gold medal upon the disqualifications of Enderlein, Müller, and Angela Knösel (who finished fourth) when the

East Germans East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

were discovered to have their runners being illegally heated.

Biography

Lechner also won the silver medal in the women's singles event at the 1971 FIL World Luge Championships in

Olang Olang (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of the city of Bolzano. There is no settlement named Olang. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 3,132 and an area of .All ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. She also won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1971 FIL European Luge Championships in

Imst Imst (; Southern Bavarian: ''Imscht'') is a town in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. It lies on the River Inn in western Tyrol, some west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of above sea level. With a current population (2018) of 10,504, Imst ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

References

* * * * * * *Wallenchinsky, David. (1984). "Luge: Women's Singles". In ''The Complete Book the Olympics: 1896-1980''. New York: Penguin Books. p. 577.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lechner, Erika 1947 births Sportspeople from Bolzano Lugers from South Tyrol Italian female lugers Living people Lugers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic lugers for Italy Olympic medalists in luge Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Italy 20th-century Italian sportswomen