One of the world’s fastest and most dangerous sports returns to the spotlight for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Luge has been part of each Winter Olympics since 1964 with men’s singles, women’s singles and men’s doubles events. A team relay competition was added in 2014, bringing the sport to four events and 12 total medals to be given out in Beijing.
The National Sliding Center in Yanqing will be host to six days of Olympic luge competition. With average speeds eclipsing 80 mph, inches and seconds could make all the difference when aiming for the podium.
European countries have dominated the sport historically, but Team USA made some history of its own at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Here is how you can watch all the luge action at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, along with streaming info, Team USA’s outlook and more athletes to watch:
What is the schedule for luge at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
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Luge competition in Beijing begins with men’s singles runs on Feb. 5 with the final runs coming on Feb. 6. After that, the women’s singles competition stretches from Feb. 7-8, men’s doubles takes place on Feb. 9 and the team relay brings things to a close on Feb. 10.
Below is the full event and streaming information for each day of competition for luge.
- Men’s singles, Runs 1 and 2: Saturday, Feb. 5, 6:10 a.m. ET (Stream)
- Men’s singles, Runs 3 and 4: Sunday, Feb. 6, 6:30 a.m. ET (Stream)
- Women’s singles, Runs 1 and 2: Monday, Feb. 7, 6:50 a.m. ET (Stream)
- Women’s singles, Runs 3 and 4: Tuesday, Feb. 8, 6:50 a.m. ET (Stream)
- Doubles, Runs 1 and 2: Wednesday, Feb. 9, 7:20 a.m. ET (Stream)
- Team Relay Competition: Thursday, Feb. 10, 8:30 a.m. ET (Stream)
Who is competing in luge for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Local
There will be eight Americans hitting the ice track for luge at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Chris Mazdzer is back on the Olympic stage for the fourth time in his career. The Pittsfield, Mass., native became the first American to ever earn a men’s singles medal in luge, taking home silver in PyeongChang. The silver was just Team USA’s sixth ever Olympic luge medal, with one coming in women’s singles and the other four coming in men’s doubles.
An injury scare created a speed bump in Mazdzer’s road to Beijing. He suffered a broken foot while training in Sochi, Russia, in late September. The timing of the injury gave him enough of a recovery window to get back on the track at a World Cup event less than two months later. He helped lead Team USA to a silver medal in the relay on Nov. 21.
Mazdzer had a chance to become the first luge athlete to compete in three different Olympic events: singles, doubles and the team relay. He has competed in men’s singles three times and done the team relay both times it has been run at the Olympics. In 2022, Mazdzer had a shot to compete in doubles for the first time, but those hopes ended when he and partner Jayson Terdiman crashed during a World Cup qualifying race on Jan. 7.
Along with Mazdzer, Tucker West and Jonny Gustafson will be racing in men’s singles. This will be West’s third Olympic appearance, while Gustafson will be making his Olympic debut.
Three U.S. women will be competing in singles, as well: Summer Britcher, Emily Sweeney and Ashley Farquharson. Britcher is the only one of the three to reach a World Cup podium over the last two seasons excluding the team relay, where Farquharson was part of the silver-winning team in November.
For doubles, Zach Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander will be racing for Team USA in their first Olympics.
Who are the best lugers at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Germany is by far the best country when it comes to luge.
The country has competed under several variations, whether it be Germany, East Germany, West Germany or the United Team of Germany. Combined, those four groups have won 81 of the 141 Olympic medals ever dished out in the sport.
German Felix Loch won the gold medal in men’s singles at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, but he slid off the podium following a mistake on his final run in PyeongChang. Germany still medaled in the event as Johannes Ludwig earned bronze, and Loch is among the top threats to earn gold in Beijing.
German domination is even greater in women’s singles. A German woman has earned gold in the event 11 of the 15 times it has been held at the Olympics.
Who won gold in luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics?
Austrian David Gleirscher took men’s singles gold in 2018, adding to the country’s legacy in the sport. Austria’s 22 total luge medals are the most in Olympic history for a non-German country.
German Natalie Geisenberger is the two-time defending Olympic champion in women’s singles entering Beijing and has continued her dominance in the sport with four world championship medals since the last Winter Olympics.
Will Natalie Geisenberger win another gold medal in luge?
Geisenberger will face some tough competition from her German compatriots as she vies for her third consecutive Olympic singles medal.
Julia Taubitz, the 2021 world championship winner, and Dajana Eitberger, the silver medalist in PyeongChang, are also threats to leave Beijing with gold.
Which country is best at luge relay?
Like Geisenberger, the German men’s doubles duo of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt is aiming for an Olympic three-peat in Beijing. Germany could have two pairs on the podium as Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, the bronze medalists in PyeongChang, have put together a run of three straight world championship golds.
To top it all off, Germany has earned gold in the team relay event both times it has been run at the Olympics. Geisenberg, Wendl and Arlt raced both times, while Loch (2014) and Ludwig (2018) each participated once.
Looking to dethrone Germany will be Latvian brothers Andris Šics and Juris Šics, who sit at the top of the World Cup standings in doubles.
What country has the most medals in luge?
After Germany and Austria, the top medal-earning countries for luge are Italy (17), the Soviet Union (6) and the U.S. (6). Italy failed to medal in the sport in PyeongChang.
Beyond the usual suspects of Germany and Austria, Canada (2) and the U.S. (1) were the only other countries to earn luge medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
