The word luge comes from the French word for sled.  Luge might be a relatively new Olympic sport, but sled racing is a very old winter pastime. References to sled racing in Norway date to 1480.

The first international luge race took place in 1883 with twenty-one competitors representing seven nations including the United States, and was originated by Brits. The sport of luge is an exciting timed sport! Competitors lie on a small sled feet first. They hurtle up to 90 mph through 17 curves on 4,318 ft of track in less than 1 minute. There are no brakes.

The Competition
Luge has been an Olympic event since the 1964 Innsbruck Games. The sport consists of three disciplines: men's singles, women's singles and doubles.  I slide Singles.

The Track
Tracks can be anything from a neighborhood hill to a multi-million dollar cement structure. There are currently 2 tracks in the U.S. - one in Park City (2002 Utah Winter Olympic Games), and one in Lake Placid (the 1980 Winter Olympic Games). The tracks can be viewed on the link website provided www, fils-luge.org. The next Winter Olympic Games will be held in Vancouver in 2010,