I was tempted to say read my entry on skeleton and then imagine feet first on your back, instead of headfirst on your stomach, but I decided that might be a bit simplistic. Luge is considered by many the most dangerous Olympic sport. You would think that title would go to headfirst skeleton, but, no— that way you can at least see where you are going. Though, without brakes, I’m not sure how that helps.
Luge is the French word for sled. In the luge, there are no brakes, just like in skeleton. One or two lugers ride a sled, lying on their backs, down a mountain at speeds up to 80 mph. They steer by exerting pressure on the sled with their bodies.
The singles format for Olympic luge is different than other sledding sports, which usually consist of two timed runs in one day. In the luge singles format, athletes make four runs down the course over two days of competition. Men and women compete on the same track, but the women start the race at a point farther down the track.
The Turin luge track was supposed to be changed in 2005 after a series of accidents injured several competitors. Luge officials urged track officials to simplify the track.
