Venue: Sanki Olympic Sliding Center
Gold medals on offer: 4
Dates: Saturday February 8 – Thursday February 13
Number of Team GB athletes: Men: 1 - Adam Rosen is the sole British luger vying to compete at Sochi 2014 – which if achieved – would be his third Olympic appearance after outings at Vancouver 2010 and Turin 2006.
Run: A completion of the track
Paddling: A technique used at the start whereby a slider uses spiked gloves to accelerate
Crank: Using extra pressure to steer the sled
Track: All events take place on the same track however the women’s and doubles starting line is further down the course than the men’s. The men’s and women’s competitions take place over two days with two runs on each day.
History: Luge takes its name from the French word for sled but first developed as a sport in Switzerland
Controversy arose as the sport made its Olympic debut at Innsbruck 1964 when some athletes were found heating the runners of their sleds with soldering irons in order to gain more speed. This wasn’t forbidden however following the Games rules were introduced to ban the practice.