Luge - Luge history

Luge - Olympic Sports

Get the fastest possible track ice in a sled lying on his back.

The luge is probably the oldest winter sport because it is derived from

straps transformations undergone through the centuries a means of locomotion already known in prehistory: the sled. Without skating, it has been used to transport stone blocks used to build the pyramids of Egypt.

It has also been used with runners on snow and ice to carry heavy burdens. The sled was already used before in 800 J-C. by the Vikings in the region Slagen, near Oslo.

Thus, at the Viking Museum in Oslo, one can admire among the items found on the boat "Oseberg" discovered in 1904, carved wooden sledges similar to those drawn by horses, which existed in the seventeenth century in cold countries. Today, the Eskimos still use a variety of special wooden sled, rather long and narrow pulled by reindeer or by chiens.En 1533, we read in a book by Conrad Schwarz word "Rodel" ( 'sledging' in German). The sled was then already known in the sixteenth century, but it was not until the nineteenth century to see them perform on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, slides repeatedly on a device similar to the current sleds children. Thus born the first luge, usually held on the roads by the Swiss hotel to entertain their clients.  

The first official race took place in 1883 among 21 competitors from 6 countries (Australia, Germany, England, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) and connected the Swiss village of Davos and Klosters. The distance of 4 km was won by Georg Robertson, an Australian student, and Peter Minsch, a mailman from Klosters, was flown in just under 9 minutes.

The first track, "Schatzalp" is arranged in Davos, where in 1913, founded the International Luge Club. That same year, the International Luge Sport was established in Dresden. In 1914 the first European Championships from 80 participants were held in Reichenberg in Bohemia.

In parallel to the sport of luge, develops the sport of bobsled with a federation created in 1923:

(FIBT), chaired by French, Count of Frégeolière. The sled was attached from 1935 to 1957.

The first real sled race, lower than that used previously, was designed by Martin Tietze , four-time champion of Europe in the 1930s.

was created in 1957 in Davos (49 federations are affiliated). The first world championships were held on an artificial track in Oslo in 1955.

Luge made its Olympic debut in 1964 in car men and women, and tandem.

The modern Olympics sledding slide down an ice track at speeds routinely exceeding 140 km / h and undergo a gravitational force that can reach more than 5 g!

Olympic Games are allowed per nation: three men, three women and two men doubles.

First Olympic champions:

- By car: the Germans Thomas Köhler men and Ortrun Enderlein women

- Tandem duo Austrian Josef Freitmantl and Manfred Stengl

The sled is practical:

, Refrigerated or not

It measures between 1 000 and 1 500 m and must include at least ten turns: a left turn, right turn, a hairpin, an S, a maze, a straight line and a turn of arrival. It must also have electric lighting. The entire track surface is coated with a layer of ice for the competition. Each track has a theoretical line calculated, but unrealized, of course the luger. In principle, it is the ideal line.

The first artificial track luge and bobsleigh was inaugurated in 1969 in Königssee, Berchtesgaden, Germany.

This is the original sport, which uses a road, icy road, but the corners not identified and not frozen. It is a sport much practiced, especially in Central Europe, where it has thousands of licensees. The track is usually longer than the artificial track, 1 000 to 2 500 m, but has the same characteristics. The technique is much different because the rider practically sitting down and goes with his feet. Hands support on the ground when cornering. This discipline has its national championships, its European championships and the world and international races.

Competition

The sled moves with their feet thanks to a double belt held with one hand without braking.

:

 - Singles

 - Women's Singles

 - Men's Doubles

- Singles

Olympic Games, taking place on two days in four innings (two runs per day each round count) for the car men and women. The four times are added, the luger to win back the fastest. They use the same track, women taking the lower starting.
At the world championships, competition seater toboggan runs in two innings.
 - Doubles

The Olympic competitions and world doubles luge are held on a day in two innings. Each sleeve has the win goes to the fastest team.

Did you know that the heaviest athlete stretches over his teammate that is better aerodynamics. The sledding wear specially designed suits to reduce wind resistance.

The sled slides on two steel plates which are the only part in contact with ice.

The sled weighing 23 kg car and 27 kg two-seater is practiced in feet first, sit back and tilted backwards. She goes by exerting pressure on the pads with his feet. The Luge made of fiberglass or plastic consists of a pair of skates fiberglass or wood fitted with a metal base plate. It has an aerodynamic shape. Two walk connecting the pads and is the seat of luger. This seat is lined with stringers connected with runners curved upward at the front of the sled. The structure runners, gates and rails is flexible. Its length is 1.50 meters. The competitor must wear a helmet and a combination designed to reduce wind resistance.

The maximum weight, tobogganing, luge athlete, and ballast combination must not exceed 90.5 kilograms. If a luger is too light, it can add ballast (weight belt, lead pellets) under his clothing.

It must travel at least 1 000 m in 4 innings for the car and in 2 innings for the two-seat, lying on his back using his body and also his legs (and hands to departure) to give a direction must correspond to an ideal line enabling it to get the best time. It is a path in sport

iduel (luge singles, two sledge) timed. The total four-run means the winner. For this, the athlete must be physically very strong, have the reflexes unusual because it has no mechanical device to change direction (unlike bobsledder), and a particular mental strength to cope with a speed exceeding any After 140 km / h on a machine that has no fairing or braking in an emergency.

- To gain speed when starting, the luger shoot with his hands on the ice. He wears gloves equipped with metal spikes (unlimited length of 4 mm staples).

- The sled can reach speeds of 145 km / h (an average of 120 km / h), without brakes!

Since the Olympics of 1976, it uses artificial tracks for competitions to better manage the course, turns the elevation and cooling of the runway. There are currently thirty artificial tracks.

(with refrigeration)

(unrefrigerated)

The sled goes faster than the skeleton and bobsleigh:

- 152 km / h for the sledge, record set in 1997 by Austrian Georg Hackl on the trail of St Moritz. French Record: 147 km / h Yohann Rousseau in St Moritz.

- 145.160 km / h for the bobsleigh, record set in 2006 by the American team of Bob to 4 (Todd Hague, Pavle Jovanovic, Steve Mesler and Brock Kreitzburg) on track in St Moritz. French Record: 139 km / h by Bruno Mingeon in La Plagne in 2000 (World Cup victory).

- 135.593 km / h for the skeleton record set in 2006 by Canadian Jeff Pain in St Moritz.

Actuate: Apply a particularly strong pressure to guide the sled.

Border : Protective barrier on top of a sliding track which prevents the sled out of the trail.

G Force: Force exerted on the sled by gravity. The G-force allows the sled and athletes to stay on the wall of a curve recorded. A "G" is the unit of measurement of the force of gravity.
Claw: Using gloves designer, it is action that is a slider after the start to propel itself forward.

Kreisel : German word meaning circle, said the turn in a circle formed by the track by crossing itself. 
Labyrinth: Part of a track which includes a series of lefts and right, between which there is no party without curve. The Labyrinth Center sliding Whistler is in the curves 12, 13 and 14.  
Stringers: Parts of fiberglass attached to steel plates at the front of the luge luger that allow the guide. Applying pressure to the rails to guide the sled.  
Luger, lugeuse: An athlete run. 
Omega: curve on the track formed as the Omega letter of the Greek alphabet. It is a combination of three curves.

Paddling : The fact accelerate the sled after the start, using gloves serrated, used to dig the ice surface. 
Losing your head: When the head of a contestant is pushed onto the ice by large forces G.

Turn omega : Seen from above, the curve resembles the Greek letter omega. 
Visualization Course: Visualization of the track is normally made before a raid.

Equipment

The slide
? Weighs 50 to 60 pounds.
? Its length will shoulder the luger to his knees, and provides no protection to the head.
? Composed of two steels (the blades of the slide), two cradles (which stabilize the slide), two runners (the steering main slide), two handles and the racing seat (on the platform where the luger sets) .

The helmet
? Is provided with a rounded visor that extends below the chin luger to reduce wind resistance.

The combination
? A combination skin-tight uniform, rubber, designed to reduce wind resistance.

Gloves
? Terminals and joints finger gloves are sledding with claws to help speed sledding at the start of a race.

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