Sonja Steinacher (born August 16, 1975) is an 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 from Verdings/Klausen in South Tyrol

South Tyrol

South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...

 who has competed for Italy

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...

 since 1995. A natural track luger, she won five medals at the FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships

The FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships, part of the International Luge Federation have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1979. These championships are shown for natural tracks...

 with four medals in women's singles (Gold: 2001

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2001

The FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2001 took place in Stein an der Enns, Austria. This marked the first time the championships were held in consecutive years since the first two championships were held in 1979 and 1980...

, 2003

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2003

The FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2003 took place in Železniki, Slovenia.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:-References:***...

; Silver: 2000

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2000

The FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2000 took place in Olang-Valdaora, Italy.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

, Bronze: 1998

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1998

The FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1998 took place in Rautavaara, Finland. It marked the first time the championships were held outside of the traditional locations of Austria, Germany, or Italy.-Men's singles:...

) and a gold in the mixed team event (2003).

Steinacher also won three medals in the women's singles event at the FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships

FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships

The FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships, part of the International Luge Federation , have taken place since 1970. A team event was added for the 2010 championships...

 with one gold (1999

FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1999

The FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1999 took place in Szczyrk, Poland. This is the second this city has hosted these championships, doing so previously in 1985.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

 and two bronzes (1997

FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1997

The FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1997 took place in Moos in Passeier, Italy.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:Panyutina followed up her silver medal at the previous championships with a gold medal this time.-Men's doubles:...

, 2002

FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2002

The FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2002 took place in Frantschach, Austria.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:-References:***...

).