Luge

Sport Overview

Luge at Milano Cortina 2026

Venue: Cortina Sliding Centre

Competition Dates: February 7-12 (Days 1-6)

Events: 5 (2 men, 2 women, 1 mixed)

---

Luge has its origins in tobogganing, one of the oldest winter sports.

In modern luge, athletes compete on an ice track, beginning their ride by sitting on an open fiberglass sled. At the top of the track, they grab two handles and rock back and forth to build momentum. After bursting from the start area, they use spiked gloves to paddle along the ice for more acceleration before lying down on their backs with feet stretched out in front and heads kept low to maintain an aerodynamic position.

Racers steer the sled by shifting their body weight as well as pressing in on the two runners with their feet. Speeding around high-banked curves at speeds upwards of 140 km/hr, lugers can experience a pull equal to five times the force of gravity. All luge events are timed to the thousandth of a second (0.001).

In the men’s singles and women’s singles events, the racer with lowest cumulative time after four runs wins.

In the men’s doubles and women’s doubles events, each pair does two runs after which the fastest total time wins. Milano Cortina 2026 will be the first Olympic Games to feature separate doubles events for men and women. Previously, there was one doubles event that was officially open to athletes of either gender, but only men ever competed in it at the Olympic Games.

The team relay features teams of four sleds racing in the following order: women’s singles, men’s doubles, men’s singles, women’s doubles. As each sled crosses the finish line, the athletes must hit a touch pad hanging over the track which opens the start gate for the next sled. The clock doesn’t stop running until the last sled reaches the finish and the team’s overall time is determined. Final results are based on one run for each team.

Canadian Olympic Luge History (Pre-Milano Cortina 2026)

Canada won its first Olympic luge medals at PyeongChang 2018. Alex Gough made the historic breakthrough when she captured bronze in the women’s singles event. Two days later, she joined with Sam Edney (men’s singles) and Tristan Walker & Justin Snith (doubles) to win silver in the team relay.

Their exuberant celebration came four years after their disappointment at Sochi 2014 where the team relay, Gough in singles, and Walker & Snith in doubles all finished just off the podium in fourth place. Edney posted Canada’s best ever men’s singles result at PyeongChang 2018, placing sixth.

Olympic Luge History

Though the first recorded luge competitions took place in 1890, and the first European championships were held in 1914, it wasn’t until the 1950s that luge was recognized as a potential Olympic sport. Following the first world championships in 1955, luge was approved to be added to the Olympic program at Innsbruck 1964.  

Since then, every Olympic Winter Games has included women’s singles, men’s singles, and doubles events. The mixed team relay was added at Sochi 2014. Separate doubles events for men and women were instituted at Milano Cortina 2026. Prior to that, the doubles event was officially open to either gender, but only men competed in it at the Olympic Games.