BEIJING, China — So far, the luge competition at the Beijing Olympics has been filled with crashes that knocked many medal hopefuls out of contention.
After watching slider after slider slip, skid and spin, many people are wondering how competitors control the sleds that they race down the icy track.
A luge sled is made up of two runners, two steels, two bridges and a seat, according to NBC Olympics.
The steels are what slide along the ground. They are attached to the runner, which is how the athlete steers. The runners respond to even the slightest leg movements.
The bridges are what connect those runners together.
Sliders can also help to steer the sled by shifting their body weight or pulling on handles they use to hold onto.
There are no brakes on the sleds -- a little scary when speeds during a luge race can reach nearly 90 mph.
At the 2022 Winter Games, there are men's singles, women's singles and a doubles competition, plus a team relay. In singles, each slider gets four runs over two days. In doubles, it’s two runs on one day. The person or team with the fastest combined time in each event is the winner.
In the relay, a single woman, single man and a doubles team each take turns going down the track. When each gets to the bottom, the slider must reach up and hit an overhead paddle to open the gate at the top, allowing the next slider to go. There is only one run, with the time starting when the first slider goes and ending when the final slider touches the paddle.
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