Courtesy of VANOC

With a vertical drop of approximately 500 feet, the Whistler track, home to bobsled, skeleton and luge, is now the world's steepest.

The Olympic Luge competition consists of three events: men's singles, women's singles, and doubles. 

In men's and women's singles, athletes take four runs down the track. The four times are added, and the fastest total time determines the winner. The competition takes two days to complete (two runs per day). The four-run format is unique to the Olympic Winter Games and is designed to reward consistency, endurance, and ability to withstand pressure - particularly on the second day. (At most events, such as the world championships and World Cup races, singles are contested over two runs.) 

Doubles luge is a one-day competition in which pairs of athletes take two runs down the course. The fastest total time determines the winner. The two-run format is also used in World Championships and World Cup races. There is no rule that says a doubles team must comprise members of the same sex, but traditionally, men have competed together.

Inside this sport: Competition Format | Equipment

Torino Recap: Italian ice
Competing at home, Italy's Armin Zoeggeler won his second consecutive Olympic gold and fourth straight Olympic medal, moving one step closer to the record for Olympic luge titles (three) and total luge medals (five) held by German legend Georg Hackl. At age 32, Zoeggeler also became the oldest male Olympic luge champion in history. The silver medal went to 2004-05 World Cup champion Albert Demtschenko of Russia, with 2003 world silver medalist and 2004 world bronze medalist Martins Rubenis of Latvia claiming bronze. Hackl, who underwent offseason surgery in 2005 to correct a disc problem in his lower back, finished sixth. It was the first time he had failed to win a medal in six Olympic singles competitions (he also finished fourth in doubles in 1988). Thirty-year-old American Tony Benshoof of White Bear Lake, Minn., finished fourth to match Adam Heidt's fourth-place finish from the 2002 Salt Lake Games as the best result by an American in men's singles.

Torino Recap: Germans dominate
Entering Torino, German women had won every Olympic, world championship and World Cup race since Nov. 29, 1997 and had swept the podium at every Olympics and world championships beginning with the 1999 Worlds. In Torino, the German women continued their dominance by sweeping the podium for the second consecutive Games. And for the second straight Games, it was Sylke Otto who led the sweep. Otto joined East Germany's Steffi Martin as the only repeat champion in women's singles. She also became the oldest champion (male or female) in Olympic history. The silver went to Silke Kraushaar, with 22-year-old Tatjana Huefner claiming bronze. American Courtney Zablocki, a 25-year-old former gymnast from Naperville, Ill., produced the best-ever finish by an American woman by placing fourth. 

Torino Recap: Brotherly gold
Brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger won Austria's first luge gold medal since 1968. The brothers had won the 2003 world title, but were not considered the leading contenders entering Torino, in part because Wolfgang, the younger of the two brothers, had fractured his left ankle and fibula during the Olympic Test Event in 2005. In Torino, he competed with metal pins in his leg. German reigning world champions Andre Florschuetz and Torsten Wustlich finished second, with Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder of Italy claiming bronze. Defending Olympic champions Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch, who hail from Bertechsgaden, the mecca of German luge that also produced the legendary Georg Hackl, finished a disappointing sixth. Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin of the United States had won doubles silver in 1998 and bronze in 2002, but in Torino, Grimmette and Martin were eliminated when they crashed during their first run.

Vancouver Outlook
The top contenders in men's singles are expected to include Germany's David Moeller - the 2007 world champion and 2008 world silver medalist - and Italian great Armin Zoeggeler, the defending Olympic champion and 2007 world silver medalist, who is looking for his third career Olympic gold and fifth career Olympic medal, both of which would tie the records held by Germany's Georg Hackl. The top American hope in men's singles is Tony Benshoof, who finished fourth in Torino. In women's singles, the story is once again Germany, which swept the medals at both the 2007 and 2008 world championships after sweeping at each of the past two Olympic Winter Games. 2006 Olympic bronze medalist Tatjana Huefner has emerged as the top slider in the German ranks after winning two straight world titles in 2007 and 2008.

American Erin Hamlin did the near-impossible when she toppled the German dynasty, when she won the 2009 world titles and snapped Germany's 99 consecutive international victory streak. Her stunning victory came in Lake Placid, Hamlin's training grounds. In Vancouver, Hamlin will be the top American contender in women's singles, but winning away from her home track will be difficult. The Germans finished 1-2-3 in the overall World Cup standings and remain the favorites heading into the Games.

In doubles, Germany has claimed each of the past two world titles and it appears likely that a team from the deep German ranks will be the favorite for gold. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medalists Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin were shut out of the medals in Torino, but the veteran U.S. sliders still have a shot at their third career medal in Vancouver - Grimmette and Martin won bronze at the World Championships in 2009.