The 2014 Winter Olympics are a here and today we will take a look at the Luge, which may be one of the most dangerous sports in the Olympics. The high-speed and dangerous luge event begins its run at the on Feb. 8 and finishes on Feb. 13, with 110 athletes and 24 nations scheduled to compete in the event. Odds for the Singles and doubles are are listed below along with the Luge schedule.
What is Luge? Well It's a one or two person sled, on which one sleds face up and feet-first. Riders steer the sleds with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. The sport is very dangerous cause sliders can reach speeds of up to 90 mph, all the while sledding one inch off the ice. Very exciting sport though. Lugers compete against a timer and are timed to a thousandth of a second, making luge one of the most precisely timed sports in the world. The first recorded sled races took place in Norway sometime during the 15th century and is now firmly entrenched as an Olympic sport.
The Germans have won four consecutive gold medals in women's singles and have captured 10 of a possible 12 medals the last four Olympics. Their team is led by Natalie Geisenberger (Germany), who comes in at 1/10 odds to take home the gold. She won a bronze medal in the women's singles event at the Vancouver games back in 2010 and she she finally won her wold championship in the 2012-13 season, after completing an outstanding scoreboard with six wins and three second places.
Tatjana Hufner (Germany) is next at 5/1 odds. She won the bronze medal in the women's singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino and the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Hüfner won the overall Luge World Cup title in women's singles three times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10), and in 2008 she became the first woman to win five straight FIL Luge World Cup events.
Anke Wischnewski (Germany) checks in at 11/1 odds. Anke won two medals in the women's singles at the FIL World Luge Championships with a silver in 2007 and a bronze in 2005, while in 2006-2007 season she had he highest finish in the overall Luge World Cup title, finishing 3rd.
Alex Gough (Canada) is next at 12/1 odds. Gough has competed in two winter Olympics with the 2010 games at Vancouver being her best finish at 18th. Her career highlights including coming in fourth at the 2003 Canadian championships, while on February 12, 2011, she was the first non-German athlete to win a World Cup race in thirteen years.
Tatiana Ivanova (Russia) is next at 33/1 odds. Tatiana won the women's singles event at the FIL European Luge Championships in 2010 and 2012 and finished 17th in the 2008-09 Luge World Cup. She was a part of the Vancouver games in 2010 and finished 4th.
Erin Hamlin (USA) is next at 33/1 odds and is the United States best shot at a medal in women's Luge. Erin won a world championship in 2009 and will try to become the first American to win an Olympic luge medal in women’s singles. Hamlin finished 12th in the women's singles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino. and she finished 16th at Vancouver, coming in as the highest placed American in the event.
Luge Team Relays is an new event to the Olympics and the Germans are favored to take the event. Each teams consists of one woman, one man and one doubles team from each nation. The woman will start, just like an individual race, but when she gets to the finish there will be a touch pad hanging above the track. She must rise up from her moving sled and touch the pad. That will signal a gate back at the start of the track to open up for the male slider to start his run. The male slider takes his run and hits the finish pad to open the gate for the doubles team, which will take its run and hit the pad to stop the clock for a nation's total time.
Luge Team Relays Odds... Germany 1/12... Canada 9/1... Italy 12/1... Russia 16/1... USA (20/1)... Austria (25/1)... Latvia (28/1)
Luge Schedule
February 8: Men’s singles heats 1 and 2, 9:30 a.m. ET
February 9: Men’s singles heats 3 and 4, 9:30 a.m. ET
February 10: Women’s singles heats 1 and 2, 9:45 a.m. ET
February 11: Women’s singles heats 3 and 4, 9:30 a.m. ET
February 12: Doubles Heats 1 and 2, 9:15 a.m. ET
February 13: Team relay, 11:15 a.m. ET
Many thanks to Wikipedia, Bleacher Report and the Sports Network for providing the info needed for this article.
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