Winter Olympic Sports

Luge

History

Gold Medal Sleds have been around for thousands of years. They have been found in the cold Scandinavian countries and the warm sands of Egypt as far back as 4,000 years. They were used as tools at first to help move things from place to place.

Gold Medal There are early references to people using sledding for fun and sport around the 1400s in northern European countries. In the early 1880s, English soldiers stationed in Switzerland made a curved road (track) between two cities where they would use metal sleds to get back and forth. They would use this to help transport supplies and to have fun. Soon after, people started using the metal sleds more for fun, and a few years later, it would become a major sporting event.

Gold Medal In the late 1880s in St. Mortiz, Switzerland, along with the sports bobsledding and skeleton, luge became a major sport. People from all over Europe came to compete and watch these sports.

Equipment Used

Silver Medal Ice-covered track, sled, racing suit, helmet, gloves with spikes, face shield, a neck strap (it helps the rider’s neck against high speeds), and boots.

Silver Medal Wood made the first sleds with modern technology, plastic, metal, and carbon fiber.

Silver Medal The track is about 1,615 m (about 1 mi) with multiple curves. The track has a different layout for every Olympics.

Rules

Bronze Medal Althletes race down the track on their sleds for the fastest time. Each team will have four runs to get their best time.

Bronze Medal Athletes go about 129- 145 kph (80-90 mph).

4 events in this category

Men’s Singles: Each athlete will race down the track lying on top of a flat sled on their back. Each racer will have four runs, and judges will add each time together. The athlete with the highest score after their runs will be the winner. (Added to the Innsbruck (Austria) Winter Olympics in 1964)

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winner (Germany) Felix Loch)
Doubles: A pair of athletes (one athlete lays on top of the other) will race down twice. After their races, the judges will add up their times, and the team with the fastest time wins. (Added to the Innsbruck (Austria) Winter Olympics in 1964)

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winners (Austria) Andreas Linger & Wolfgang Linger)
Women’s Singles: Each athlete will race down the track lying on top of a flat sled on their back. Each racer will have four runs, and the judges will add each time together. The athlete with the highest score after their runs will be the winner. (Added to the Innsbruck (Austria) Winter Olympics in 1964)

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winner (Great Britain) Amy Williams)
Team Relay: In this event, each of the three events will combine into one race: the women’s singles, men’s singles, and doubles. Women start the race, and after she touches the hanging sensor at the end of the track (this signals the next racer), the men’s single racer will race down the track. After he touches the sensor, the doubles will take off down the track. The time with the fastest time will win. (Added to the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics in 2014)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winners (Germany) Natalie Geisenberger, Tobias Wendl, Tobias Arlt, and Felix Loch)