While it may not look it to the naked eye, luge is one of the most complex sports at the Winter Olympics. Athletes race feet-first down an icy track without mechanical breaks, using only slight movements of their legs and torso to steer, all while sliding down a mountain at speeds approaching 145km/h (90 mph). The winner is the athlete or team that completes all of the prescribed runs in the fastest total time.

Five luge events are scheduled for the Milan Cortina Winter Games: 

The luge competition begins with the first runs of the men's singles event on Saturday, Feb. 7 and wraps up with the team relay on Thursday, Feb. 12. Stay tuned on the NBC Olympics schedule page for updates. Singles events take place over two days, two runs per day, for a total of four runs. Doubles events take place over one day for a total of two runs. The team relay comprises just one heat per nation.

Luge, bobsled, and skeleton will take place at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The new track, built specifically for the 2026 Winter Games, will hug the same mountain slope upon which the sliding sports took place during the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina. The track is named after Italian bobsled legend, Eugenio Monti.

Timing in luge is measured to the thousandth of a second using electronic sensors. Runs begin once the athlete or sled breaks the start gate beam and end when the sled fully crosses the finish line. In singles, athletes complete four runs over two days, with their cumulative time deciding the standings. Doubles involve two runs in one day, summed for final ranking. In the team relay, a woman, a man, and a doubles pair each sled in succession; the final time is the total of all three segments

The team relay debuted at Sochi 2014 and features teams comprising one woman, one man, and one doubles pair from the same nation. Each starts their run immediately after the prior teammate finishes and hits a touch-sensitive pad to trigger the next start. The combined time determines the team's placement.

Qualification relies on World Cup rankings during the Olympic season. Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) can qualify up to three singles sleds per gender, two doubles teams, and one team relay. For Milan Cortina, quotas include 25 men’s singles, 25 women’s singles, 17 men’s doubles pairs (34 athletes), and 11 women’s doubles pairs (22 athletes). Host nation Italy can claim at least one spot per discipline if unqualified via rankings. Additionally, athletes must meet FIL’s minimum standards across pre-Olympic and Olympic season

Germany reigns supreme in Olympic luge, holding the majority of medals across history. They've claimed 24 Olympic gold medals out of the 52 possible. Notable legends include Italian Armin Zoggeler, who amassed six medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze) in men’s singles over six Games and Germany’s Georg Hackl, the first to earn medals in five consecutive Olympics (1988–2002), including three straight golds. In doubles, the East German duo Stefan Krausse and Jan Behrendt won four medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze). 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.

Several familiar faces from the Beijing podium are expected to make another Olympic run in Milan Cortina. For Team USA, Emily Sweeney, Ashley Farquharson, and Summer Britcher all have been named to the national squad for the 2025–26 season. All three bring extensive Olympic and World Cup experience, and their continued presence signals that the United States will have a seasoned core in women’s singles.

Germany, as always, is expected to return with a deep and roster. Beijing silver medalist Anna Berreiter since has captured both world and European titles, cementing her status as a gold-medal favorite in 2026. Austria’s Wolfgang Kindl, who claimed men’s singles silver in Beijing, has remained a consistent force in international competition, becoming the first sliding athlete to win in the men's singles and doubles races at a single World Cup, and still is considered among the sport’s most technically gifted athletes.

Italy’s Marion Oberhofer has been another revelation, particularly in doubles. Alongside partner Andrea Votter, she won the overall doubles World Cup title in 2022–23 and has been a fixture on the podium at both the European and world championships.