Winter Olympics Luge: Everything You Need to Know About Rules, History, and Sled Gear

Luge is like the fastest Winter Olympic sport and if you blink, a race down an icy track could be over. One or two riders (known as lugers) lying on a small sled that then hurtles down an icy track to the finish line at high speeds — and the fastest luger is the winner! We’re learning about all the Olympic winter sports like snowboarding, bobsledding, speed skating, curling, and biathlon. Here we’ve culled together this list of 11 interesting facts about luge. Read on!

 

1. What are the origins of luge?

Luge is the French word for “sled,” and that’s how the sport got its name. People have been ice skating for over a thousand years, and the first sledding races that we know of can trace its origins all the way back to the 15th century in Norway — but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that luge exploded in popularity out of Switzerland.

2. When was luge invented?

Caspar Badrutt is the man who did a whole lot to help popularize luge, as well as bobsledding. Badrutt was a hotel entrepreneur who was the proprietor of the Palace Hotel in St. Mortiz, Switzerland in the 1880s and trying to encourage guest to stay during the winter with food and alcohol. Eventually, though, his guests grew a little bored and probably a little drunk and started messing around with sleds, modifying multiple sleds for multiple people and basically inventing competitive sledding. Caspar Badrutt encouraged all this and in 1884, even built an ice track called the Cresta Run for bobsledders and lugers to hold races. Competitive sledding only grew from there.

3. How do you steer a luge?

Unlike bobsledding or skeleton, lugers (also called sliders) must lie flat on their backs during the race. Steering requires a lot of delicate yet formidable strength, and you need strong calves to apply pressure on the blades of the sled (also called runners) while using your shoulders to shift your weight as you slide down and navigate the icy track. This needs to be done delicately with as minimal steering as possible because the more you steer, the more friction you’ll cause and increase your chances of wiping out. Doubles luge is trickier. The slider on top is able to see where they’re going so that person directs the steering by communicating with the slider on the bottom through head motions. The slider on the bottom does the actual steering. The 2-person luge requires a tremendous amount of cooperation.

 

4. What is the official governing body of luge?

TheFédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL) is based in Salzburg, Austria and has governed the sport since 1957, when luge removed itself from theFédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) that oversaw competitions for winter ice sports. The FIBT had merged with the International Sled Sport Federation (which was founded in 1913 in Dresden, Germany) in 1935.

5. When did official competitive luge races start?

The very first international sledding event took place in 1883 in Davos, Switzerland, and the inaugural European Luge Championships inReichenfels, Austria were held in 1914, with events for single-seater and double-seater sliders. However, the first World Championships didn’t happen until 1955 in Oslo, Norway, where Karla Kienzi of Austria won the women’s singles event while Anton Salvesen of Norway won the men’s singles event.

6. When did luge debut at the Winter Olympic Games?

The luge event was first admitted at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. There were singles events for men and women, and one doubles event for men. Thomas Köhler and Otrun Enderlein of Germany won the first luge gold medals for the men and women’s singles events respectively, while the Austrian team of Josef Feistmantl and Manfred Stengl won the gold medal for the doubles event. Sadly, a week before the Wintery Olympics, British luge racer Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki sustained significant injuries from an accident during a training run for the luge competition.

7. How fast can lugers go?

Top competitive lugers can reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour (or 144.8 kilometers per hour). The fastest luger to ever luge is Manual Pfister of Austria, who reached 96 miles per hour (about 154 kilometers per hour) at the Whistler Sliding Centre in British Columbia, Canada right before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

8. How do luge tracks work?

There are natural luge tracks and artificial luge tracks. An Olympic luge track is artificially cooled, and is typically made of concrete that is reinforced with evaporators hidden inside. The evaporators cool the course down to 12 degrees °F (or -11 degrees °C). Then water is sprayed on the track to create two inches of ice to layer down. Luge courses are usually about a mile long (or less than 1.6 kilometers), with slopes that typically drop down around 300 to 400 feet (or 90 to 120 meters — the equivalent of 30 stories). A luge course will include straightaways, right and left turns, downhills, possibly an uphill, and at least one S-curve combination. Due to the technology and expense that goes into building and maintaining an artificial luge track, there are less than 24 artificial luge tracks in the world today.

9. Is luge dangerous?

Yes! Luge is a very dangerous sport. Lugers travel at high speeds with their heads hanging off the back end of a sled while trying to maneuver themselves down the icy track, so yeah, they can face serious injuries if they crash during a run. In fact, like bobsledding, there have been several fatal accidents that have occured on the luge track. Two weeks prior to the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki crashed and died after he suffered a fractured skull, fractured pelvis, and several other injuries in a luge accident. In 1969, Stanisław Paczka of Poland died at the FIL World Luge Championship in 1969. In 2010, Nodar Kumaritashvili of the country of Georgia, died while preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver when he lost control of his luge, flew off the track, and hit a metal pole. Yeah, luge is dangerous.

10. How do luge athletes train?

Luge sliders need to be tough af, especially since their helmet is pretty much their only protection if they wipe out. They need strong legs, abs, and thigh muscles to help maneuver their sleds, with upper-body strength training. There’s also a weight requirement: Men must weigh at least 198 pounds (or 90 kilograms). Women must weigh a minimum of 165 pounds (or 75 kliograms). Lugers under the minimum weight may attach extra weights to their bodies to make up for the difference.

 

11. What kind of equipment do you need in luge?

There isn’t much to keep lugers safe during their runs down icy tracks. Lugers do wear racing suits and helmets with face shields, along with neck straps to prevent their heads from hitting the track, and special gloves and boots. A luger’s gloves have spikes attached that help get traction when paddling to start their run down the track. You’ll also need a sled! Luge sleds are aerodynamically designed, but must meet legal size standards for competitions. The sled has a pod for one or two riders to sit on along with sharp steel runners affixed to the bottom of it.

 

Image Credit: image by Sandro Halank via Wikimedia Commons

*****This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thank you for reading!*****