Luge

Supine, with feet pointing towards the finish and the only brake coming after the race has ended, when the athlete turns toward the results board, waiting to see his time.

The origins of luge go way back in time. We have to retrace our steps to 800 A.D. to find the first evidence: luge was used in Norway, near Oslo, as a means of transport and as a toy.

Four races to decide which great champion will succeed in taking the gold in this event.

The competition consists of a descent along an iced run: the athlete on the luge adopts a prone position, with feet pointing down the run. Competitions are usually held over two rounds. The competition time, measured to thousandths of a second, is determined by a chronometer which starts at the bottom of the start ramp. Specialities comprise men's and women's single and men's double. Victory goes to whoever records the overall shortest time.

Single (Men's and Women's)

Athletes start from a sitting position at the top of a ramp, from which they push themselves for some metres, using two fixed handles, with hands provided with nailed gloves for improved grip. Arriving at the finish without the sled means automatic disqualification. However, athletes are allowed to stop during the descent and start again, with a push, after repositioning the luge on the run.

Double

The athlete who finds himself at the top of the starting ramp pushes himself off using the two fixed handles while the second athlete holds on to straps that link him to the athlete in front of him. Two descents are scheduled for the double event. The starting order is decided in accordance with the same parameters as those of the first two descents in the single competitions.

Starting order

At the Olympic Games if athletes are more than 30 in number they are divided into three groups.
First descent: the starting order is established by random draw of the athletes’ numbers from the three merit groups involved.
Second descent: the athletes in the three groups start in inverse order with respect to descent 1.
Third and fourth descent: the starting order is inverted, with the fifteenth in the classification starting first. From the sixteenth place onwards, however, the starting order again respects the classification order.

Source: www.torino2006.org

Event schedule