Luge

Luge is a winter sport. It emerged from the leisure sledding.

History

The slide sports was the beginning of the 19th century popular. Initially, wooden sleds were like the Davos sledge or sleigh Grindelwald used. From this developed the winter sports Luge and Bob. The first toboggan race was in 1883 in Davos. 1888 developed an Englishman Bob by consecutively connected two carriages with a board. At that time the races were held exclusively on natural toboggan runs, so on forest trails that were created mainly for timber transport.

Of 1910 was the first sled race held on an artificial track. The separation into two independent sports took place in 1964, when the races were recorded on the artificial track in the Olympic program. Then also the European and World Championships were just held on these paths, until 1970 took place the first Natural Track Championships.

Since 1957 there is the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL ) which seceded as an independent Luge organization of the FIBT. In this, the athletes of, the luge very similar, Skeleton -Sports are organized alongside the bobsleighers continue. In Germany all three sports in the Bobsleigh and Luge Federation of Germany (BSD ) are summarized.

Art Luge

In this sport, you sledging on a skating rink, where the driver is located on the back. Is steered by leg pressure and displacement of the upper body. The ideal procedure is to keep as flat as possible on the luge. The acceleration from a standing start is short strokes with the hands on the ice, the so-called penguin shock.

Competitions will be held in three disciplines: single (women and men ) and doubles. In the doubles competition no gender separation is applied, it must both men and women participate. Due to the natural physical superiority since the 1960s made ​​the doubles teams in professional sports, however, almost exclusively male. For International Championships partially comes also added a team competition (both single and double seater ).

The sport of luge is Olympic discipline since 1964. Moreover held world championships since 1955. Cognate with the luge is skeleton, which is in contrast to the luge, lying down on his stomach. In addition, the sleds as bobsled has moving casks, which both sports ultimately very different from luge, where permanently mounted skids are used.

Statistics

International competitions in sledding are traditionally of athletes from Germany, Italy dominated ( here especially from the South Tyrol region ) and Austria, with the women even predominantly by the Germans alone. At the 2004 World Championships in Nagano and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the German women won all three medals, the German men occupied in Nagano in each case the first two places in one and in doubles. In addition, they decided to team competition for themselves. The dominant position of a nation is as pronounced as tobogganing in almost any other sport. Athletes from the two German states and since 1990 (Olympic Games 1964: Total German team) won from the reunified Germany

  • 1964-2006 65 of 108 Olympic medals (60 %), this accounted for 24 of 36 Olympic victories ( 67%),
  • Two thirds (67 %) of all world title, and

Ice rinks

Germany is the only country that has four lanes. Worldwide there are paths in the following locations:

Europe

  • Germany Germany Altenberg (Erzgebirge ) (Saxony )
  • Oberhof ( Thüringen)
  • Winterberg ( North Rhine -Westphalia)
  • Koenigssee ( Bavaria )
  • Innsbruck (Tirol )
  • Cesana (Piedmont)
  • Cortina d' Ampezzo (Veneto )
  • Paramonovo ( Moscow Oblast )

North America

  • United States United States Lake Placid (New York)
  • Park City (Utah )

Asia

  • Japan Japan Nagano ( Nagano Prefecture)

Skating rinks that are no longer in operation:

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina (formerly Yugoslavia) Sarajevo, destroyed during the wars in Yugoslavia 1991
  • Sapporo

Natural ice rinks

Worldwide, there are very few man-made tracks that are still operated as in the early days of sledding sport with no icing system. They are therefore usable only when the corresponding sub-zero temperatures. These include:

  • Switzerland Switzerland Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz- Celerina (Graubünden)
  • Spit mountain railway ( Thuringia)

Tobogganing

In this sport, you sledging on a natural track, so on a forest road or a road -like setting. The curves are not excessive; an ice plant that supports the icing of the route does not exist. In competition, the tracks are frozen in the rule. Use to steer athletes in addition to the legs and the hands or arms.

The natural track luge sport has developed as a sport self-employed since 1964. 1970 saw the first European Championships in Kapfenberg ( Austria), 1979, the first World Championships in Inzing ( Austria ). Since 1992 there is also a World Cup, which includes six events.

Wintersport England Nagano, Nagano Paramonovo, Moscow Oblast List of Olympic medalists in luge List of bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks Altenberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track Winterberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck France Lake Placid, New York Park City (Utah) Whistler-Blackcomb Luge at the Winter Olympics FIL World Luge Championships Luge World Cup
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