Learn About Olympic Luge and Skeleton

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Doubles teams are almost always two men.

The luge competition consists of three events: men's, women's and doubles.

Athletes take four singles runs or two doubles runs and the fastest total time is the winner.


The athletes travel feet first down the course in the luge (the French word for sled).

Men and women compete on the same track, but the women start from a position further down the course.

The sled rides along the course on two steel runners and can reach speeds of more than 90mph.

The skeleton event is similar to the luge but competitors travel on their stomach, head first, down the track.

The men's skeleton event is being held for the first time since the 1948 Games in St Moritz. Women's skeleton is making its Olympic debut.

Competitors do two runs on the same day with the final standings determined by the aggregate time of the two runs.

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The luge runs along the course on two steel runners called "steels".

The steels are attached to "kufens", flexible levers operated by the legs, which are connected by "bridges".

The body of the sled is known as a "pod" and is made of fibreglass.

Competitors (called "sliders") wear aerodynamic suits and gloves with spikes on the fingertips to help them push off down the track.

Their feet are covered by luge booties, which are pointed to minimise wind resistance.

An aerodynamic helmet has a transparent visor to allow the slider to see the course and offers protection from the wind.

Lighter athletes are allowed to wear weight vests.

In the singles event, the sled must not weigh more than 23kg, in doubles not more than 27kg.

There is no maximum weight for athletes but lighter athletes may wear weight vests.

In the men's skeleton event, the maximum weight of sled and driver must not exceed 115kg; for women, the limit is 92kg.

The sled length must be between 80-120cm and the height between 8-20cm.

Each competitor may have a maximum of eight spikes on the base of each shoe, which must not be longer than 7mm.
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