A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the pod. Racing sleds weigh 21–25 kg (46–55 lb) for singles and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) for doubles. Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport that employs that sled and technique.
Canada Olympic Park (COP), formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill, is a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, owned and operated by WinSport. It is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public. Canada Olympic Park was one of the venues for the 1988 Winter Olympics, being the primary venue for ski jumping, bobsleigh, and luge.
Meaghan Simister is a Canadian Olympic luger who has competed since 2003.
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.
Wolfgang Staudinger is a West German luger who competed from 1978 to 1989. Together with Thomas Schwab he won the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
The Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, is home to a relatively deep-seated tradition of winter sports. Much of this stems from its location, with proximity to the Alberta Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park. After hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics, the city has also had winter sports and training facilities. Beyond winter sports, Calgary has several professional and amateur sports teams and is a major world pro rodeo center, with the city's Stampede Park holding the annual Calgary Stampede.
Alex Gough is a retired Canadian luger who competed between 2002 and 2018. Gough is a two-time Olympic luge medalist winning bronze in women's and silver in the team relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She was the first Canadian to win a luge medal at the Olympics. Gough won a bronze medal in the women's singles event at the FIL World Luge Championships 2011 in Cesana, the first ever for a Canadian woman and only the second overall. Gough has won a total of six World Championship medals, two bronze in women's singles and a silver and three bronze in the mixed team relay events.
Denmark sent a delegation to compete at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. This was Denmark's first appearance at the Winter Olympic Games since the 1968 Winter Olympics 20 years prior, and Calgary was their sixth overall appearance at the winter version of the Olympics. Denmark was represented in Calgary by a single figure skater, Lars Dresler. In the men's singles, he finished in 14th place.
Cameron "Cammy" Myler is an American luge athlete who was a member of the U.S. National Luge Team from 1985 to 1998 and competed on four Winter Olympics teams.
Wendel Suckow is an American luger who competed during the 1990s. He is best known for the being the first American to ever win a gold medal in luge either at the Winter Olympics or the World Championships when he was the surprise winner of the 1993 championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Steffi Martin Walter was a German luger who competed during the 1980s, representing East Germany. She won two Olympic gold medals in the women's singles event, two gold medals at FIL World Luge Championships, one gold medal at FIL World Luge Championships, and two silver medals at FIL European Luge Championships.
Karsten Albert is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2003. He won a silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2001 FIL World Luge Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Rebecca "Becky" Wilczak is an American luger who competed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She won the bronze medal in the mixed team event at the 2001 FIL World Luge Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Veronika Bilgeri is a West German luger who competed during the late 1980s. She won two medals at the 1988 FIL European Luge Championships in Königssee, West Germany with a gold in the mixed team event and a silver in the women's singles event.
Michelle Kelly is a Canadian former skeleton racer who competed from 1994 to 2013. A two-time Olympian, Kelly is largely considered to be one of the pioneers of the sport of Women's Skeleton. Originally an elite gymnast, she was recruited for her explosive power to the Canadian Women's National Bobsleigh Team as a brakeman, competing from 1994 to 1999. In 1995 Kelly started sliding Skeleton and competing in both sports. When Women's Skeleton and Bobsled were both named to make their debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Kelly chose Skeleton. She finished 10th at those 2002 Games, and went on to earn the Olympic alternate position at the 2006 Torino Olympics, and another Olympic birth at the 2010 Winter Olympics, finishing 13th. Kelly won a complete set of medals at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 2003, a silver in 2008, and a bronze in 2005, as well as taking the women's Skeleton World Cup overall title in 2002-3.
Bonny Warner is an American luger who competed from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. She later competed in women's bobsleigh from 1999 to 2002. She was a pilot for United Airlines from 1990 to 2004, when she quit United and went to work for JetBlue Airways. In December 2020 she left Jet Blue and went to work for Joby Aviation as the Head of Air Operations and People.
Adam Eric Pothier is a Canadian luger who has competed since 1990. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of fifth in the men's doubles event at Salt Lake City in 2002. He is a 6 time National Champion in the Doubles category. Pothier officially retired from the sport in January 2009.
Hannah Campbell-Pegg is an Australian Luge athlete who has competed since 2004. She competed in two Winter Olympics, she finished 23rd in the women's singles event twice (2006, 2010. Campbell-Pegg qualified with little experience in the sport for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games becoming Australia's 3rd athlete to ever do so behind Diane Ogle and Roger White.
The Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Calgary, Alberta. Part of Canada Olympic Park, it hosted the bobsleigh and luge competitions at the 1988 Winter Olympics. This track is one of only two of its type in the world to be featured in a non-documentary film when it was part of the 1993 American film Cool Runnings which loosely followed the Jamaican Bobsled Team during their competition in bobsleigh at the 1988 Games.
