Luge will be the first Olympic sliding sport to hit the ice at Cortina Sliding Centre when the men's singles competition commences on Saturday, Feb. 7. 

The singles event is contested in four runs over two days, with the lowest combined time after the final run determining the gold medalist. Run 1 is slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, and Run 2 will follow at 12:30 p.m. All luge events are available to watch on mobile tablet and connected TV devices via the Peacock, NBC and NBC Sports apps.

The Germans are the undisputed kings and queens of luge, winning 38 of the 52 awarded gold medals in the competition's Olympic history. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Felix Loch last won the singles event at Sochi 2014 but clocked the 4th-best time in his final training run and is in the mix for a podium. 

Loch's countryman Max Langenhan, competing in his second Games after a 6th-place finish at Beijing 2022, topped the timesheet in his final run and posted the only sub-53-second time. Langenhan is the reigning men's singles world champion. 

Reigning Olympic silver medalist Wolfgang Kindl paced the field in the penultimate training run. Kindl told reporters Friday at Cortina Sliding Centre he felt "really comfortable" on track. 

"We will see what happens tomorrow (in competition). Every day the ice was a little bit different; yesterday it was slower, today faster," Kindl said. 

Kindl's Austrian teammate Jonas Mueller was 8th-fastest in his final run but is seeking a fresh start after he was unable to qualify for Beijing 2022. Mueller won the World Cup event at Cortina Sliding Centre in November 2025 and told reporters on Thursday that he was ready for anything. 

"I feel ready. I know I can be faster and I know I can compete with (Loch) for the top spot," Mueller said. 

Not to be forgotten is Latvian Kristers Aparjods, who was 2nd-fastest in the final training run and has a chance to bring Latvia just its second-ever medal in the singles event.

Italian Dominik Fischnaller won the bronze medal in the singles event at Beijing 2022 and will look to repeat that glory in front of his home crowd. Fischnaller, who is married to American luger Emily Fischnaller, told reporters he became "more relaxed" after Beijing. 

"It was just such a big goal of my life to reach an Olympic medal," Fischnaller said Friday at Cortina Sliding Centre. 

Fischnaller posted the quickest time in his third training run Thursday, but he was honest about what he saw after the final runs. 

"I think we saw today who can go really fast, and who are not. At the end it's always the same: the Germans are going fast, the Austrians are going fast, the Latvians and then us. So (Langenhan) and (Loch) be hard to beat. But we have some advantage with way more runs on this track so far, so we are giving it all we have."

While not podium favorites, Team USA will have two representatives in the event in the form of Jonny Gustafson and first-time Olympian Matthew Greiner.