Lugers

All of the Italian lugers this time round are from the Alpen north (Bolzano-Bozen/South Tyrol) and actually speak a variant of Austro-Bavarian German. alkali says: ❋ Unknown (2010)

Engineers help lugers eliminate drag by analyzing positioning on the sled, the material of the slider's suit and sled design. ❋ Unknown (2010)

As Mr. Kumaritashvili came around the fateful turn, Mr. Parks said, he noticed that the racer was out of control and in a different position than lugers who had successfully navigated that curve. ❋ Adam Thompson (2010)

But its chairman Josef Fendt said last week that the track had turned out to be far faster than its designers ever intended it to be, and Olympic officials shortened it to slow speeds and raised safety barriers to keep lugers on the track if they crashed. ❋ Samantha Shields (2010)

He said that the athlete's father and uncle were both lugers and that the young athlete had trained extensively around Europe. ❋ Adam Thompson (2010)

WHISTLER, British Columbia – Olympic officials continue to say that the luge track where a young slider from the Republic of Georgia was killed Friday is safe, but they announced a highly unusual change to slow the speeds on the track, which is the fastest in the world, as well as alterations to keep lugers on the track should they crash. ❋ Matthew Futterman (2010)

A spokesman for the International Luge Federation, or FIL, said it's a requirement of the FIL, for safety reasons, to start lugers at lower points in the track and then have them work their way up to the higher starts. ❋ Ian Johnson (2010)

Some top lugers suffered high-speed crashes during initial training runs in 2008, Austrian luge team member Wolfgang Kindl said late Thursday. ❋ David Crawford (2010)

Despite those assertions, Olympic officials took unusual measures on Saturday to shorten the course by 190 yards to slow the speeds, and they altered the run to keep lugers on the track should they crash. ❋ Samantha Shields (2010)

Rather than allowing them to start from the top, the lugers had to work their way up and start the run from six separate steps, as if they were junior lugers just starting out the sport. ❋ Ian Johnson (2010)

Alterations were also made to keep lugers on the track should they crash. ❋ Matthew Futterman (2010)

During test events at the facility last year and in training runs before these Olympics, the lugers had been traveling at speeds of 96 miles per hour. ❋ Matthew Futterman (2010)

Shortening it will eliminate the first turn, and ensure that lugers are traveling at a slower rate as they approach the bottom area where Mr. Kumaritashvili crashed. ❋ Matthew Futterman (2010)

Yet some Russian athletes complained of poor training facilities; Russian lugers, for example, cited problems with the freezing equipment at their 2-year-old stadium. ❋ Richard Boudreaux (2010)

Women's skiers can't get in training runs; France's Jay wins gold in men's biathlon; men's lugers and women's speedskaters chase medals; U.S. women's hockey routs China in preliminary-round opener. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Some top lugers suffered high-speed crashes during initial training runs that year, Austrian luge team member Wolfgang Kindl said Thursday. ❋ Samantha Shields (2010)

Yet, during test events at the facility last year and in training runs before these Olympics, the lugers have been traveling at speeds of 96 miles per hour. ❋ Matthew Futterman (2010)