Gerhard Plankensteiner (born 8 April 1971 in Sterzing

Sterzing

Sterzing is a comune in South Tyrol in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. It is the main village of the southern Wipptal, and the Eisack River flows through the medieval town.-Origin:...

, South Tyrol) is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 national of Austrian descent luge

Luge

A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

r who competed from 1986 to 2010. Together with Oswald Haselrieder

Oswald Haselrieder

Oswald Haselrieder is an Italian national of Austrian descent luger who competed from 1990 to 2010...

 he won the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

.

Plankensteiner also won seven medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with two golds (Men's doubles: 2009

FIL World Luge Championships 2009

The FIL World Luge Championships 2009 ran on 1–8 February 2009 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, United States for the second time after having hosted the event in 1983...

, Mixed team: 1989

FIL World Luge Championships 1989

The FIL World Luge Championships 1989 took place in Winterberg, West Germany. The mixed team event consisting of two separate runs each in men's singles, two separate runs each in women's singles, and one run in men's doubles debutted.-Men's singles:...

) and five bronzes (Men's doubles: 1996

FIL World Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, Mixed team: 1991

FIL World Luge Championships 1991

The FIL World Luge Championships 1991 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1989. It also marked the first time East Germany and West Germany competed as a unified German team.-Men's singles:...

, 1993

FIL World Luge Championships 1993

The FIL World Luge Championships 1993 took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the second time, having previously hosted the event in 1990.-Men's singles:Suckow is the first American to win a championship at the World or Winter Olympic level....

, 1996, 1997

FIL World Luge Championships 1997

The FIL World Luge Championships 1997 took place in Igls, Austria for the third time after previously hosting the event in 1977 and 1987.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

). At the FIL European Luge Championships, he won five medals with one silver (Men's doubles: 1996

FIL European Luge Championships 1996

-Men's singles:Demtschenko is the first Russian to medal at the championships since the breakup of the Soviet Union in late 1991.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

) and four bronzes (Men's doubles: 2002

FIL European Luge Championships 2002

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, 2008

FIL European Luge Championships 2008

The FIL European Luge Championships 2008 took place January 7-13, 2008 at the Cesana Pariol track in Cesana, Italy. The relay competition took the place of the team event that had been held at every European championship since 1988...

 (tied with Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

); Mixed team: 2000

FIL European Luge Championships 2000

The FIL European Luge Championships 2000 took place in Winterberg, Germany for the third time having hosted the event previously in 1982 and 1992. The team event format was reduced to one run each in men's doubles, men's singles, and women's singles for the total time.-Men's singles:-Women's...

, 2008).

Plankensteiner's best overall Luge World Cup finish was second in men's doubles in 1996-7.