Two athletes — Peter Minsch of Switzerland and George Robertson of Australia — tied for first place in what was called “The Great International Sled Race” of February 12, 1883. Their time: 9 minutes and 15 seconds, to slide down a four kilometre (just under 2.5 miles) track joining the Swiss villages of Klosters and Davos.
Luge races have grown considerably faster since then with refrigerated luge tracks and aerodynamic equipment, so that speeds now regularly reach 140 kilometres (around 87 miles) an hour or more and G-forces reach over 5G.
Luge for men, women and doubles made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck.
taken from:
http://www.vancouver2010.com
TIME's Sean Gregory gets pushed down an ice track as he follows Olympic hopeful Erin Hamlin while she trains for the games in Vancouver.
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