Luge made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The program included three events: men’s singles, women’s singles and doubles, which have remained Olympic staples ever since. Luge — the French term for a recreational sled — has been competed since the late 1800s, but for many decades, was deemed too dangerous to be included on the Olympic program. With safety measures and improved technology, Luge since has been a fixture of the Winter Olympic Games.

Over the decades, Olympic luge has undergone both competitive and technological evolution. When a doubles race ended in a tie at the 1972 Sapporo Games, the sport refined its timing system from hundredths to thousandths of a second. This change ensured more accurate finishes in a sport often decided by margins smaller than a blink. The event lineup remained stable until the Sochi 2014 Games, when the mixed team relay was added. That new race combines runs from a men’s singles slider, a women’s singles slider, and a doubles team, introducing a strategic team element and a thrilling finish-line touchpad exchange.

Several names stand at the top of Olympic luge history. Italy’s Armin Zoggeler, known as “The Cannibal,” earned six consecutive Olympic medals in men’s singles from 1994 through 2014, an unmatched feat in the sport. Germany’s Georg Hackl was renowned for his technical mastery, becoming the first luger to earn medals in five consecutive Games and the only man to win Olympic singles gold three times in a row (1992, 1994, 1998). On the women’s side, Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger is unmatched: six Olympic gold medals and one bronze have made her the most decorated woman luger of all time.

Olympic luge has produced moments of both triumph and tragedy. The 1972 doubles tie between Italy’s Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner, and East Germany’s Horst Hoernlein and Richard Bredow, remains one of the most memorable finishes in Winter Games history and directly influenced timing reforms. Georg Hackl’s three consecutive singles golds in the 1990s showcased sustained dominance rarely seen in any sport; Armin Zoggeler’s two-decade-long medal streak solidified his place as a legend; and at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the team relay made a dramatic debut, with Germany sweeping all four luge gold medals. But the sport’s history also includes tragedy — most notably the death of Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training crash at the Vancouver 2010 Games, which prompted immediate safety changes and track modifications.

Germany has been the undisputed superpower in Olympic luge. German athletes have collected more than 80 Olympic luge medals, far outpacing all other nations. Austria, Italy, and the former Soviet Union also have produced champions, but Germany’s depth, coaching infrastructure, and technological expertise have kept it firmly on top for decades. In recent years other nations such as the United States, Canada and Great Britain all have made significant steps toward luge glory. 

Perhaps the most storied rivalry in the sport’s history is the long-running battle between Georg Hackl of Germany and Markus Prock of Austria. Prock often held the upper hand on the World Cup circuit with explosive starts and raw speed, while Hackl consistently rose to the occasion at the Olympics with unmatched precision and mental fortitude. Their duels throughout the 1990s defined the era, pitting two contrasting styles — and two nations with deep luge traditions — against each other on the sport’s biggest stage.

Beijing 2022: Germany continued its stranglehold on Olympic luge, sweeping gold in all four events for the second Winter Olympic Games. Johannes Ludwig won his first men’s singles title, becoming the oldest men's Olympic luge champion in history, while Natalie Geisenberger claimed her third consecutive women’s singles gold and seventh Olympic medal overall. Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt captured their third straight doubles title. Germany closed out the competition with another gold in the team relay, led by Ludwig, Geisenberger, and the Wendl/Arlt pairing.

PyeongChang 2018: Chris Mazdzer became the first American man to win a singles medal in luge, taking silver. Germany again dominated the medal count, with Natalie Geisenberger repeating as the women's singles gold medalist, followed by Dajana Eitberger with silver. But in the men's singles event, favorite Felix Loch made a mistake on his final run and dropped off the podium, leaving Austria's David Gleirscher with the gold -- but German Johannes Ludwig took bronze. Two German doubles teams won the gold and bronze in their event, then the German relay team won gold. 

Sochi 2014: Luge at the 2014 Games featured the mixed team relay event for the first time, after it was approved by the IOC in 2011. The United States came away with a bronze medal, won by Erin Hamlin in the women's singles event. Germany took gold in all four events, with Felix Loch repeating as the winner of men's singles and Natalie Geisenberger winning her first Olympic title. The two led Germany to gold in the team relay.

Vancouver 2010: Luge events took a tragic turn in Vancouver when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili fatally crashed during practice. The men's course was altered to start where the women and doubles started, resulting in a shorter race that favored strong starters over the more technical drivers. Germany's Felix Loch was the two-time reigning world champion, and won his first Olympic title at age 20. Armin Zoeggeler continued his medal streak, winning a fifth consecutive medal, this time bronze. While American Erin Hamlin entered as a medal favorite after claiming a world title in 2009, she fell short, finishing 16th.

Torino 2006: For the first time since 1984, Germany’s Georg Hackl did not win a medal in men’s singles. However, Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler won his second consecutive gold and his fourth straight medal. Latvia’s Martins Rubenis won his nation’s first Winter Olympic medal (bronze in men’s singles). Germany swept the women’s singles event for the second consecutive Games and Sylke Otto won her second straight gold, becoming the oldest luge gold medalist in history (man or woman). Silke Kraushaar-Pielach secured silver, becoming the first woman to win three Olympic luge medals. No American won a medal but Tony Benshoof and Courtney Zablocki both finished fourth. It was the best finish ever by an American woman (until Erin Hamlin won bronze in 2014) and tied for the best for an American man.

Salt Lake 2002: For the first time since 1988, Germany’s Georg Hackl didn't win Olympic gold in men’s singles. He had won three consecutive golds – in 1992, 1994 and 1998 – but his bid to win an unprecedented fourth winter gold medal was halted by Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler. But Hackl did become the first Olympian – summer or winter – to win five medals in an individual event when secured silver (he also claimed silver in 1988). For the second consecutive Games, U.S. doubles teams claimed silver and bronze with Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin securing silver and Chris Thorpe and Clay Ives coming away with bronze. Germany swept the women’s medals. 

Nagano 1998: North America won its first medals in Olympic luge. The U.S. doubles team of Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer earned silver and Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin claimed bronze. Georg Hackl of Germany won his third consecutive singles gold, becoming the fifth winter Olympian to three-peat in an individual event, joining Ulrich Wehling in Nordic combined, speed skater Bonnie Blair, and figure skaters Gillis Grafstrom and Sonja Henie. Jens Mueller won his second medal, a bronze, 10 years after his 1988 gold. 

Lillehammer 1994: Georg Hackl and Markus Prock dueled again. Hackl won the first two runs and enetered the second day with a .010-second edge over the Austrian. On the third run, Prock set a course record and took the overall lead by 0.048 seconds. A bad final run left him runner-up again – this time, 0.013 seconds behind his German nemesis – then the closest finish in Olympic singles history. In doubles, Italy’s Wilfried Huber finally defeated his older brother Norbert in a major competition. Wilfried won gold, Norbert secured silver, and another brother, Guenther, brought home bronze in the two-man bobsled. The women’s champion, Italy’s Gerda Weissensteiner had her gold medal stolen two weeks later while attending her brother’s funeral. The Lillehammer organizers replaced it.

Albertville 1992: Austria’s Doris and Angelika Neuner went 1-2 and become the second sisters in Olympic history to finish first and second in an individual event. (In 1964, Marielle and Christine Goitschel of France did it twice in Alpine skiing; Marielle won gold in giant slalom and Christine won the slalom gold. Canadian sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe went 1-2 in moguls in 2014). But the women’s luge wasn't without controversy. After the first two runs, coaches from Italy and the U.S. accused the Austrians of illegally strapping their suits to the heels of their boots to create an aerodynamic toe-point. The protest was rejected. Men’s champion Georg Hackl won the closest men’s singles competition in 24 years (.306 seconds ahead of Austria’s Markus Prock). The race was even closer two years later, in 1994, when Hackl won his second of three consecutive gold medals. 

Calgary 1988: Steffi Walter-Martin became the first luger to defend Olympic gold in a singles event and led an East German sweep. West Germany’s Georg Hackl secured silver, the first of his five consecutive medals in men’s singles. After having problems with his start, a special practice ramp was built for him at his home track in Koenigssee. 

Lake Placid 1980: 1976 Olympic gold-medalist Detlef Gunther of East Germany managed to place fourth in singles despite falling off his sled near the end of the third run and climbing back on to finish. The East German doubles team of Hans Rinn and Norbert Hahn became the first athletes to win back-to-back luge golds at the Games. (Hahn is not related to countrymen Bernd and Ulrich Hahn who finished fourth). 

Innsbruck 1976: Olympic luge is timed to the thousandth of a second, making it the most precisely timed winter discipline at the Winter Games (until 1998 when short track follows suit). West German sliders wore egg-shaped helmets en route to three medals and thus were dubbed “The Coneheads.” The aerodynamic headgear subsequently was outlawed. Taiwan’s Huang Liu-Chong recorded what is believed to be the slowest four-run luge time in Olympic history (5:22.646).

Sapporo 1972: After a start-gate problem forced the first run of doubles to be thrown out and rerun, the only tie in Olympic luge history took place when Italy’s Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner matched the gold-medal time of East Germany’s Horst Hoernlein and Richard Bredow. The Italians had won the discarded run and argued that it should have be counted since the start gate problem had affected everyone, but their protest was rejected. To avoid such troublesome ties in the future, moving forward luge has been timed to the thousandth of a second at subsequent Games. The women’s champion, East Germany’s Anna-Maria Mueller, was one of the three women who had been disqualified in 1968 (after placing second). In all, East Germany won eight of the nine luge medals at the Games – all but the gold awarded to Italy in the doubles tie. 

Grenoble 1968: East German women went 1-2-4 led by defending champion Ortrun Enderlein, but all three women were ejected for illegally heating their runners. The third-fastest woman, Italy’s Erika Lechner, thus was awarded gold. All three men’s medalists also won medals in doubles. The singles competitions concluded after three runs due to bad weather. 

Innsbruck 1964: Luge made its Olympic debut. The inaugural competition included three events: men’s singles, women’s singles, and doubles. The same events have appeared in every subsequent Games, with a fourth event — the team relay — added to the program in 2014. Two weeks before the competition, Polish-born British luger, Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki careened off the Olympic course in Igls and was killed. Luge had never been included on the Olympic program until 1964 because it was deemed too dangerous, and Kay-Skrzypecki’s death did little to dissuade those fears.