Georg Hackl, often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as Hackl-Schorsch or as the Speeding Weißwurst, a reference to what he looks like in his white bodysuit coming down the luge at fast speeds.
Gerda Weissensteiner OMRI is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who competed from the late 1980s to 2006. Competing in six Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles luge event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, and together with Jennifer Isacco she won the bronze in Turin in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She was the first Italian sportsperson to win Olympic medals in two disciplines.
Tatjana Hüfner is a German retired luger who has competed since 2003.
Oswald Haselrieder OMRI is an Italian former luger who competed internationally from 1988 to 2010. He achieved success at junior level, taking two bronze medals in singles and a gold in doubles at the World Junior Championships, the latter achieved in partnership with Dietmar Pierhofer. Haselrider and Pierhofer continued to compete together until 1995, when they split up and Haselrieder joined forces with Gerhard Plankensteiner. Haselrieder went on to win the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin after competing in three previous Winter Olympic Games: in 1992 in the singles event and in doubles in 1998 and 2002. He went on to compete in a fifth Olympics in 2010: he retired soon afterwards after sustaining an injury in training in March of that year.
Kurt Brugger is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1987 to 2003. Together with Wilfried Huber, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. He competed in four Winter Olympics: 1988, 1992, 1994 and 1998.
Jens Müller is an East German-German luger who competed from 1985 to 2001. He won two medals at the Winter Olympics in men's singles with a gold at Calgary in 1988 and a bronze at Nagano in 1998.
Klaus Bonsack, also known as Klaus-Michael Bonsack, was an East German luger who competed during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Harald Ehrig is an East German former luger who competed from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. He won the silver medal in the men's singles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.
Wolfram Fiedler was an East German luger who competed from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. He won two bronze medals at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, earning them in the men's singles and men's doubles event, respectively.
Dettlef Günther is an East German former luger who competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. He won the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, Günther was favored to repeat after leading the first two runs, but crashed at the end of the third run causing him to lose three seconds and settling for fourth in the standings.
Josef Fendt is the immediate past president of the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL), having served from 1994 to 2020. He was a West German-German luger who competed from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the silver medal in the men's singles event at Innsbruck in 1976.
Paul Hildgartner is an Italian former luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals and one silver medal for his efforts. Hildgartner was the flag bearer for Italy in the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1988 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies.
Susi-Lisa Erdmann is an East German-German luger and bobsledder who competed from 1977 to 1998 in luge, then since 1999 in bobsleigh. She was born in Blankenburg, Bezirk Magdeburg. Competing in five Winter Olympics, she won two medals in the women's singles luge event with a silver in 1994 and a bronze in 1992, and a bronze at the inaugural two-women bobsleigh event in 2002. She is one of only two people to ever win a medal in both bobsleigh and luge at the Winter Olympics; Italy's Gerda Weissensteiner is the other.
Horst Hörnlein is a former East German luger and bobsleigh coach who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and Reinhard Bredow won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.
Walter Plaikner is an Italian former luger and coach of Austrian descent who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a doubles specialist, and competed alongside Paul Hildgartner. They won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Plaikner also competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, where he finished 11th in the doubles after suffering from a severe bout of flu. He retired from competition after the Games.
Miroslav "Miro" Zajonc is a Slovak-born luger who competed for Czechoslovakia, Canada, and the United States. Competing for Canada, he won the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1983 FIL World Luge Championships in Lake Placid, New York, in four record breaking runs. He represented the United States at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
The men's luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on 13–14 February 2010 at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Germany's Felix Loch was the two-time defending world champion and won the gold medal with the fastest time in each of the four runs. The test event that took place at the venue was won by Germany's David Möller, who would win the silver medal in this event. Italy's Armin Zöggeler was the two-time defending Olympic champion and won a bronze medal in this event. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 games took place in Cesana, Italy on 30 January 2010 and was won by Zöggeler, who also won the overall World Cup title.
The women's luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada took place on 15–16 February at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Germany's Sylke Otto was the two-time defending Olympic champion. Otto retired midway through the 2006-07 season in January 2007 to pregnancy and after suffering a crash at the track in Königssee, Germany. Erin Hamlin of the United States was the defending world champion. The test event that took place at the venue was won by Germany's Natalie Geisenberger. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 games took place in Cesana, Italy on 31 January 2010 and was won by Geisenberger. Geisenberger's teammate Tatjana Hüfner, the defending Olympic bronze medalist, won the overall World Cup for 2009-10 season in women's singles.
The doubles luge event at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on 17 February at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Twenty teams participated. Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, the defending Olympic and European champions, won the gold medal. The silver medal was also won by a pair of brothers, Andris and Juris Šics of Latvia. Germans Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch clinched the bronze medal after edging out Italians Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Gruber, who were in third place after the first run.
