Luge sleds are different from Bob-leg bobsleds and Skeleton Sleds because the sled is driven supine (on its back) and driven with a delicate foot and shoulder motion.
Luge sleds are controlled by the rider, and the rider adjusts the sled’s trajectory by flexing their calves and shoulder muscles as well as by twisting their head. The rider has little control over the luge’s movement and often struggles to see where they are going, so intuition plays a large role in luge steering.
Sliders may also assist with steering a luge sled, either by shifting body weight, or pulling the handles that they are using to grip. Using their legs, Sliders exert pressure on either the nose of a rider to steer them down a track (they can also steer by making slight movements using their shoulders to shift weight).
Sliders grip onto a pair of handles to throw themselves into the course, then lay flat on their backs in sleds. Using a starter’s handle at the edge of the track, the slider swings on the sled back and forth to begin the run. Sitting foot-first on the sled, the first rider grasps hold of steel handles on the side of the ice course.
How Racers Embark on the Sled
The racers push on the sleds as hard and as quickly as they can–holding on to their retractable handles–and hop on. To begin the run, two to four team members race behind the sled and push it, then jump in. Before every race, the sled (with the athlete, in case of an acrobatic race) is weighted on the starting ramp.
The clock continues to tick from the start of the first sled to the end of the third, without any breaks, including among athletes. The start is crucial, the one part of the run in which an athlete has control of accelerating into The Sled.
The athlete in front of the sled is steering using ropes, while the person at the back is responsible for braking. Unlike in luge, the bobsled also has a steering mechanism that the rider controls. The bobsled used on the Skeleton is thinner and heavier than the luge bobsled, controlled by the competitor’s head and shoulders.
Steel Blades and Their Utility on Sleds
Steel blades are attached to the two runners, the only part of the luge sled to come into contact with the ice. Its sled rides on two blades that have sharp undersides known as runners, which are the only parts of a sled that make contact with the ice. The sled is made from fiberglass and steel, custom-made for athletes according to their height and weight.
The athlete rides on a flat, aerodynamic position in the sled, keeping their head down to minimize air resistance. The bodies of the pro lacrosse athletes need to be in perfect shape to control the sled through the speed, and shoulders, abdomen, calves, and quads are crucial to controlling sled position as it travels down the course.
Luge involves both single-person races as well as team races, where athletes need to control the speed and direction of their sleds using their shoulders, abdomens, and hip muscles. Luge is a one-person or two-person event in which the athletes lay flat on their backs on the flat-sided sled, racing on specially designed tracks made from ice. Luge is a winter sports competition involving sliding a sled on an artificial course built with steep banks and inclines. In luge, riders lay flat on their backs on a sled, closely controlling turns using the movement of the feet and shoulders.
How Lugers Enjoy the Ride
Lying on their backs, Lugers control the sled and make changes to directions, shifting their weight using calf muscles, while using the shoulders to glide. The sled slides over two pieces of steel, the curved, extended portion on the end called runners–which helps a luger shift directions using their legs.
The luger steers using their calves muscles to bend the runners of a sled, or applying shoulder pressure to their seats in opposition. Athletes steer primarily by using the sled calves, applying pressure on the runners — the right calf for turning left, left calf for turning right.
Luge athletes have to have really strong leg muscles, as, according to USA Today, they use their calves to put pressure on either blade and steer the sled. To steer, the sledders may use the knees or shoulders to apply pressure to the corners of the sled, using shifts in their body weight, or tapping the ice with their toes.
Approaches to Sledding at Competitions
When two individuals are skating a sled, it is the higher-ups on the sled who call when and how to steer, as they have better vision on slanting tracks on the ice. At the speed at which these sleds go, it may look as though the athletes are hardly moving at all – but when you watch carefully enough, you will be able to see just how expertly trained they are. Viewers will need to watch the riders carefully during their sled events to pick up on the interesting aspects of the physics at work.
Riders in a sledding event achieve their high speeds by the conversion of gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy. As the gravity pulls athletes and their sleds downhill, they are continually interacting with particles in the air, creating a force called air drag, which pulls athletes and their sleds backward in the direction opposite to their velocity. While it might seem like riders in a sled race are just sliding at high speeds down the twists after getting off, much more is going on.
In the luge team relay, teams have three sleds: a single for men, a single for women, and a double. While no rules exist regarding sex, most luge doubles races are teams of two, with the heavier athlete placed on top of their lighter teammates. Athletes and their training teams must maintain their luges to their best ability to have any shot at winning the Luge race.