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The luge or sled dates back to ancient Scandinavia where hollowed-out tree trucks may have been used as prehistoric transport.

The first historical evidence for the luge (French, for sled) dates to the Dark Ages in Norway, where sleds were used for fun, or as an easy way to transport people and materials.

As a sport, luge events were first held in St. Petersburg, Russia in the 16th century, and its popularity soon spread throughout Europe. However, it wasn't until 1833 that the first official games involving 21 competitors were held in Davos, Switzerland. A century later, the first world championship attracted over 50 athletes from around Europe, bringing the sport official recognition in 1957 with the founding of the International Luge Federation. Inclusion as an official Olympic sport only came in 1964 at the Innsbruck Games.

Today, the Olympic event is held over two rounds - with fastest times determined in thousandths of seconds - in the men's and women's single and men's double competitions.

Achieving speeds of up to 153 km/h means an occasional spill with an inevitable separation of athlete and sled. However, unlike Olympic bobsled, lugers arriving at the finish without the sled means automatic disqualification.

US luge athletes we watched in 2006:

Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin - Ranked among the top luge teams in the world, Grimmette and Martin began riding together in 1996. Since then, they have taken a bronze in 1998 and silver in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In 2006, Grimmette and Martin will attempt something that no other U.S. Winter Olympic male athlete has done before – medal at three consecutive Olympic Winter Games.

More about Olympic luge around the Web:

International Olympic Committee - Luge - Overview of the luge competitions, list of events, Olympic records, Flash presentation, athlete profiles, picture gallery, related links.

Canadian Luge Association - Team and athlete profiles, news, results and standings, schedule of events.

USALuge.org - The official site featuring news, athlete profiles, information on sponsored programs, membership info, American luge club contact details, related links.

also see in Sports -> Luge & Street Luge

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Ice Hockey | Luge | Nordic Combined | Short-Track Skating

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