Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics – Doubles

The Doubles luge competition at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo was held on 10 February, at Sapporo Teine.[1] A malfunctioning starting gate cancelled the results of the first run.[2] Italy, whose doubles team of Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner won the first run, protested to event officials the results should stand since all contestants had suffered equally, but to no avail.[2] After the protest was denied, a rerun was ordered.[2][3]

Doubles at the XI Olympic Winter Games
Venue	Sapporo Teine
Dates	10 February
Competitors	40 from 11 nations
Winning time	1:28.35
Medalists
Horst Hörnlein, Reinhard Bredow  East Germany Paul Hildgartner, Walter Plaikner  Italy Klaus-Michael Bonsack, Wolfram Fiedler  East Germany

Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Singles	men	women
Doubles	men

Hildgartner and Plaikner won the first run of the rerun event while the East German team of Horst Hörnlein and Reinhard Bredow had the fastest second run.[4] The combined times were equal for the only time in Winter Olympic luge history.[4] The International Luge Federation consulted with IOC President Avery Brundage on this matter, and gold medals were awarded to both teams as a result.[2] By the time of the 1976 Winter Olympics, artificial track luge would be timed in thousandths of a second (0.001) rather than hundredths of a second (0.01) in an effort to avoid ties.[5] That would prove effective until the FIL European Luge Championships 2008 at Cesana, when another tie occurred.[6] This tie was again in the men's doubles event and it again involved Italy and Germany (East and West Germany reunified in 1990) only this time it was for a bronze medal rather than gold.[6]