Luge

Departing German luger at the 2010 Olympics
Highest governing body	Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course
First played	1870s
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Teams of 1 or 2
Mixed gender	Yes, but usually in separate competitions
Categorization	Winter sport, Time trial
Equipment	Sled, Helmet, suit, visor, finger spikes, booties
Venue	Luge tracks
Olympic	since 1964

A Luge ( /ˈluːʒ/) is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) 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.

Lugers can reach speeds of 140 km per hour, and the Guinness World Record is held by Tony Benshoof of the United States at a speed of 139.9 km per hour although some athletes, including Sam Edney of Canada and Felix Loch of Germany have reached speeds exceeding 150 km per hour (95.68 mph) on the track in Whistler, Canada.

Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds. It is a competition in which these sleds race against a timer. The first recorded use of the term is 1905, from the Savoy/Swiss dialect of French "luge" meaning "small coasting sled", and is possibly from a Gaulish word with the same root as English sled.

History

German luger Thomas Köhler in 1964

Luge, like the skeleton and the bobsleigh, originated in the health-spa town of St Moritz, Switzerland, in the mid-to-late 19th century, through the endeavours of hotel entrepreneur Caspar Badrutt. Badrutt successfully sold the idea of winter resorting, as well as rooms with food, drink, and activities. His more adventurous English guests began adapting delivery boys' sleds for recreation, which led to collisions with pedestrians as they sped down the lanes and alleys of the village.

The first organized meeting of the sport took place in 1883 in Switzerland. In 1913, the Internationale Schlittensportverband or International Sled Sports Federation was founded in Dresden, Germany. This body governed the sport until 1935, when it was incorporated in the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT, International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation). After it had been decided that luge would replace the sport of skeleton at the Olympic Games, the first World Championships in the sport were held in 1955 in Oslo (Norway). In 1957, the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL, International Luge Federation) was founded. Luge events were first included in the Olympic Winter Games in 1964.

Artificial/Olympic tracks

United States Luge Junior National Team Athlete, Matt Wolbach, slides through curve 6 while participating in the 2010 "Utah Winter Games".

Artificial luge tracks have specially designed and constructed banked curves plus walled-in straights. Most tracks are artificially refrigerated, but artificial tracks without artificial cooling also exist (for example, in St. Moritz). Tracks tend to be very smooth.

The athletes ride in a flat, aerodynamic position on the sled, keep their heads low to minimize air resistance. They steer the sled mainly with the feet by applying pressure on the runners. It takes a precise mix of shifting body weight, applying pressure with feet and rolling the shoulders. There are also handles for minor adjustments. They race at speeds averaging 120–160 km/h (75-100 mph) around high banked curves while experiencing a centrifugal pull of up to 5G. Men's Singles have their start locations near where the bobsled and skeleton competitors start at most tracks, while both the Doubles and Women's Singles competition have their starthouse located further down the track. Artificial track luge is the fastest and most agile sledding sport.

Natural track luge

German natural track luger Michaela Maurer at the FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2010 in St. Sebastian, Austria.

Natural tracks are adapted from existing mountain roads and paths. Artificially banked curves are not permitted. The track's surface must be horizontal. They are naturally iced. The use of artificial refrigeration is forbidden. Tracks can get rough from the braking and steering action. Athletes use a steering rein and drag their hands and use their legs in order to drive around the tight flat corners. Braking is often required in front of curves and is accomplished by the use of spikes built on the bottom of the shoes.

Most of the tracks are situated in Austria and Italy, with others in Germany, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Canada, and the United States. The Upper Peninsula Luge Club in Negaunee, MI is home to one of only five lighted natural track luge runs in the world, and the only natural track in the United States. The half-mile track features 29 curves along its 88-meter vertical drop. The hill hosts international luge events and offers luge instruction to the public during the winter months. World championships have been held since 1979 while European championships have been held since 1970.

Risks

Spectators at the Whistler Sliding Centre watching lugers pass the point on the track where Kumaritashvili crashed and died.

As with many extreme sports, luging is not without its risks. The most recent fatality was Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who suffered a fatal crash during his final practice run for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Hours after the incident, the International Luge Federation concluded that the accident was caused by a steering error and not a track error. Nevertheless, changes to the track were made before the re-opening. Kumaritashvili was the fourth athlete to die while in preparation for a Winter Olympics competition, following speed skier Nicolas Bochatay, 27, who died while preparing for the Albertville 1992 games, British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski and skier Ross Milne, 19, who both died in the run up to the Innsbruck 1964 games.

Events

• Men's singles
• Men's doubles
• Women's singles
• Team Relay

In a team relay competition one man, one woman and a doubles form a team. A touchpad at the bottom of the run is touched by a competitor signaling a teammate at the top of the run to start.

Governing body

The sport of luge is governed by the FIL, Fédération International de Luge de Course. The FIL is located in Berchtesgaden, Germany and is dominated by German representatives.

The following persons have been president of the FIL:

• Bert Isatitsch, Austria (1957–1994)
• Josef Fendt, Germany (1994–current)

Olympic Medal table

Men's singles

Current Olympic champion:  Germany (GER)  Germany (GER)  Italy (ITA)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	9	7	6	22
2	Italy	3	2	2	7
3	Austria	1	2	2	5
4	Russia	0	2	2	4
5	Latvia	0	0	1	1
Total		13	13	13	39

Men's doubles

Current Olympic champion:  Austria (AUT)  Latvia (LAT)  Germany (GER)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	9	4	6	19
2	Austria	3	2	2	7
3	Italy	2	2	3	7
4	United States	0	2	2	4
5	Latvia	0	1	0	1
5	Russia	0	1	0	1
Total		14	12	13	39

Women's singles

Current Olympic champion:  Germany (GER)  Austria (AUT)  Germany (GER)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	9	11	9	29
2	Italy	2	0	0	2
3	Austria	1	2	3	6
4	Russia	1	0	1	2
Total		13	13	13	39

Total Olympic Ranking (2010)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	27	22	21	70
2	Italy	7	4	5	16
3	Austria	5	6	7	18
4	Russia	1	3	3	7
5	United States	0	2	2	4
6	Latvia	0	1	1	2
Total		40	38	39	117

Fatal accidents

This section requires expansion.

No	Competitor	Year	Track	Section	Race	Event	Vehicle
	Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski	1964	Igls		Training run	1964 Winter Olympics	Luge
	Stanislaw Paczka	1969	Königssee				Luge
	Nodar Kumaritashvili	2010	Whistler		Training run	2010 Winter Olympics	Luge

See also

Sports and games portal

• World Luge Championships
• World Luge Natural Track Championships
• List of Luge World Cup champions
• European Luge Championships
• European Luge Natural Track Championships
• Bobsleigh
• Skeleton
• Toboggan