Singles, Women

As in the men’s event, the East German medal sweep was not expected beforehand. The East Germans had not won medals at the last two World Championships, although they had done better at the European Championships, with Anna-Maria Müller winning in 1970 and Ute Rührold in 1972. These two lugers, both from SC Traktor Oberwiesenthal, would compete for the gold in Sapporo, together with a third East German, Margit Schumann. Competition started with a tie in the first run between Schumann and Rührold, but Müller grabbed the lead with a strong second descent. Schumann won the third run, leaving her 0.12 seconds between the three (Müller ahead of Rührold and Schumann) at three-quarters of the competition. Müller, who had missed a silver medal in 1968 because of a disqualification, did not give away her position and won the final run. Müller might have won more international medals if she would have competed on Sundays, but a strict Catholic, she always refused this.