Ilona Brand, whose sporting career began on the Spießbergbahn in her place of birth, started during her active time for the ASK Vorwärts Oberhof . In 1979 and 1980 in particular, Brand was able to achieve success both nationally in the GDR and internationally. At the Luge World Cup 1978/79 on the combined ice rink at Königssee , she took third place. Behind Melitta Sollmann , she won both the silver medal at the GDR championships in 1979 and the 1979 European luge championships in Oberhof . The year 1980 was similarly successful, when Brand was first again GDR runner-up behind Sollmann and behind him and the Italian Marie-Luise Rainer won bronze at the 1980 European Luge Championships. The highlight of her career was taking part in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid , where she competed in the first two runs as fourth place in close proximity to the medal ranks. After she achieved the fourth-best time in rounds three and four, she came fifth in the overall standings.
German Democratic Republic
