2010 Winter Olympics - The Luge Event

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Dennis_McCurley]Dennis McCurley
The icy track digs into the mountain side and enables speeds to reached that will either grip your heart like a vise or could possible be life threatening. While this is true many enthusiast of winter sports climb onto the smallest of sleds just to slide down a mountain for gold medals and for the world press. These brave or foolish people are usually men but some women have begun to take up the sport known as the luge.
Luge racing is done in either a singles division or in pairs. Most competitions are held in three events, singles for men and women and pairs. In pairs you have two people strapped onto the sled and with the additional weight speeds are increased.
The 2010 Olympic event was held at the Whistler Sliding Center during the dates of February 13-14. This track was the fastest of the world and while several sliders were concerned about the lack of practice time the event was scheduled to begin without a concern. During practice runs on February 13th Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia lost control of his sled in the last turn, flew out of the track and struck a steel pole. Unfortunately he died from his injuries.
Due to this accident the Luge Committee decided to move the starting point further down the mountain to decrease the speeds of the sliders. Some participants thought this was a good thing and actually said they felt safer. However, other competitors were anything but pleased stating that all this would do is enhance sliders who are stronger starters.
The format for the Luge event is set up so that times can be taken of multiple runs with the best combined times winning the event. For the singles competition normal four heats are held over two days. The pairs event is held only on one day with two heats. In the event of bad weather rules allow for each event to be shortened in the number of heats that must be run.
The Luge has been with the world for over five hundred years. During the 1500's the first appearance of the Luge was documented in books from Germany. Then in 1883 the first international competition was held in Davos, Switzerland. Not until 1955 were world cup events held and then in 1977-78 the first World Cup for the Luge was run.
The history of the Luge is long and contains many twist and turns. The event is both thrilling and dangerous. Those who participate generally have a love for speed and danger, two qualities that are easily found at the same time within this sport. While it offers great fun to watch this is one sport that is not for the weak at heart.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?2010-Winter-Olympics---The-Luge-Event&id=6026226] 2010 Winter Olympics - The Luge Event