Better Know A Winter Olympic Sport: Luge, Maybe Feet First Is Safer?

What It Is: One or two people lie down on a sled and glide down an icy, curving track, feet first, at high speeds.

How high? The United States’ Tony Benshoof owns the world record for speed on a luge sled, hitting almost 87 mph. Here’s a taste from the luger’s perspective.

As I mentioned, luge comes in two varieties, singles, which features men’s and women’s events, and doubles, in which two men attempt to make it down the track together, one on top of the other. All three events joined the Olympic program in Innsbruck. Austria in 1964, providing a replacement for the original incarnation of skeleton, which disappeared after the 1948 Games.

What To Watch For: Luge isn’t one of the United States’ best events at the Winter Games, as twin silver and bronze showings in the 1998 and 2002 doubles races are the only medals ever earned by Americans.

The good news is that the pair of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, who account for two of those honors, are back to try for a third. The bad news, the two struggled through this World Cup season, finishing 10th. (The other American pair, Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finished 8th.) Look for the Germans, Austrians and Italians (who being from Südtirol, have German names) to claim the medals.

Armin Zöggeler, owner of four Olympic medals, including the last two golds, is an overwhelming favorite in men’s singles, especially as he recently claimed his ninth World Cup crown. His main competition will come from Russian Albert Demtschenko, who finished second behind Zöggeler in this season’s World Cup, and Germans Felix Loch, winner of the last two World Championships, and David Möller. But don’t write off Benshoof, who finished fourth in Torino four years ago. That’s the best ever finish by an American in men’s singles.

On the women’s side, Erin Hamlin, who claimed the United States’ second luge World Championship in Lake Placid last winter, is America’s best hope for a medal. She finished fourth in this season’s World Cup, and will have to break Germany’s near monopoly on the event to reach the medal podium. Over the past three Games, the German women have claimed eight of the nine medals, and they should dominate again. Tatjana Hüfner and Natalie Geisenberger traded race titles during the World Cup this season, finishing first and second overall respectively. The title was the third straight for Hüfner, who won bronze in 2006.

When To Watch: Luge kicks off the proceedings at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Men’s singles will take place on the first two days of competition, February 13 and 14, with the women’s singles following on February 15 and 16. Men’s doubles, the only event that is contested over two runs instead of four, takes place on February 17. Visit the Vancouver site for complete schedule information.

Why To Watch: Much like skeleton, the lack of a good steering mechanism means one false move can lead to a spectacular spill.

While the Americans may not win a medal this time around, at least one will still be in the news. Tony Benshoof will attempt to break his world speed record during the competition.