Location | Hunderfossen, Lillehammer, Norway |
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Coordinates | 61°13′27″N 10°25′39″E / 61.224291°N 10.427415°ECoordinates: 61°13′27″N 10°25′39″E / 61.224291°N 10.427415°E |
Owner | Lillehammer Municipality |
Operator | Lillehammer Olympiapark |
Field size | 1,710 m (5,610 ft) |
Surface | Artificial ice |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1991 |
Opened | 1 March 1992 |
Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track (Norwegian: Lillehammer Olympiske Bob- og Akebane) is a bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track located at Hunderfossen in Lillehammer, Norway, 15 kilometers (9 mi) north of the town center of Lillehammer. It was completed in 1992 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, where it hosted the bobsleigh events and luge events. It has since also hosted the FIBT World Championships 1995 in skeleton and the FIL World Luge Championships 1995, and hosted 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.
Original plans called for the track to be located at Fåberg. Later it was proposed moved to Kanthaugen in the town center and then Holmenkollen in Oslo, before Hunderfossen was decided upon. The track is 1,710 meters (5,610 ft), giving a competition length of 1,365 meters (4,478 ft) for bobsleigh and men's singles luge, and 1,185 meters (3,888 ft) for other luge competitions. The bobsleigh course has a vertical drop of 114 meters (374 ft), giving an 8.5 percent average grade. The track has been part of the proposed Oslo 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics bids.
Prior to the Lillehammer Olympics, there was no bobsleigh and luge track in Norway. During the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Korketrekkeren had been built as a temporary venue, but it was made of snow and was not reused after the Olympics. In its bid for the 1994 Winter Olympics, Lillehammer had proposed placing the bobsleigh and luge track next to Balbergbakken in Fåberg. By May 1989, plans for most of the venues were being reshuffled and the track was then proposed located at Kanthaugen as part of an Olympic Park at Stampesletta. The Kanthaugen proposal was estimated to cost NOK 231 million.