Luge
Luge is a winter sliding sport in which athletes descend a specially constructed track on a small sled.
Men and women compete in singles events, and men also compete in doubles. The track length ranges from 800 to 1200 meters. Athletes lie on their backs, feet first, and steer by shifting body weight.
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Singles events consist of 4 runs
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Doubles events consist of 2 runs
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The winner is determined by the total time of all runs
Tracks have an ice-covered concrete or wooden base, with:
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11 to 18 curves
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A track width of 130–150 cm
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A vertical drop between 70 and 120 meters
Speeds can reach up to 140 km/h during a run.
Olympic Disciplines
At the Winter Olympic Games, luge competitions include:
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Men’s singles
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Women’s singles
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Men’s doubles
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Team relay (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles)
Interesting Fact
Before each run, the temperature of the sled runners is carefully checked. It must fall within a specific range depending on the air temperature.
Olympic Games
Luge made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
Shortly before the competition began, British athlete of Polish origin Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski tragically died in a crash during training. This incident raised safety concerns, but competitions proceeded on the new artificial track, which was considered safer than older natural tracks.
The first Olympic luge gold medal was won by Thomas Köhler, representing the United Team of Germany.
Russia
The first official luge competitions in Russia were held in 1910 in Moscow at Vorobyovy Gory.
In 1969, the national luge federation was established, and in 1971 the first USSR Championship was held in Bratsk.
Soviet athletes made their Olympic debut at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.
The only Soviet Olympic gold medal in luge was won by Vera Zozulya at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
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