Olympics "Skeleton"???

Same track for all three sports, yes. I’m not sure if they start at the same place.

The luger who died had flown off the track after a spill, and hit a steel pole outside of the track (which, amazingly, had not been covered or padded). There is a lot of talk about just how fast the Vancouver sliding track is in general.

They are halfway there with the two man luge! It does kind of look…awkward.

I understand that the four man bob is also popular. Doesn’t even need a track.

I was watching the two-man luge last night (or maybe it was the night before). I’d like to understand the role of the “rear” rider. It seems that, other than helping push off at the beginning, all he can do is add mass. It doesn’t look like he can see at all during the run.

Then again, that’s pretty much all the second and third team members in 4-man bobsled are doing…

The Skeleton and Bobsled both start at the top, where the men’s Luge also started before the death. Skeleton and Bobsled both require a running start, and there isn’t a place lower down to accommodate one.

Meh. Put them on silver saucers like we used as kids and see how many serious injuries accrue. :wink:

What is this ‘Wikipedia’ thing? Something new?

Anyone got a link?

And Google! :smiley:

Face first 90mph down an ice track. No thanks! :eek::eek::eek:

No, no, don’t worry. Skeleton sleds are heavier, so they top out at nearly five kph lower than luge. Walk in the park.

As noted, they have not only added padding to where the pole that killed the luger, they also softened that bank and added a raised wall so anyone flipping off their sled at the same place would stay inside the course instead of flying over the wall.

–Cliffy

Skeleton (sport) - Wikipedia :smack:

ministryman, do you know if there’s a wikipedia reference for the internet phenomenon known as a “whoosh”?

I don’t think so, but it is in the urban dictionary.

Well now that the UK has won a gold without even having a track in the entire country to practice on, this has now become the best and most important sport ever.

I used to train in both singles and doubles at the Olympic Training Center. For all luge (singles and doubles), steering is a combination of applying pressure with shoulders and legs. If you want to steer to the right, you push in with your left leg and down with your right shoulder. This twists the entire sled and allows for steering. Obviously, steering to the left is the opposite. This is a very simplified description - but gets the point across.

On a doubles sled, it’s difficult for a single rider to do both. So basically, the bottom rider steers with his shoulders, while the top rider steers with his feet. The combination is what makes the sled turn effectively. Also - “just adding mass” means adding a LOT of speed. Doubles sleds go much faster than singles.

Finally - you are right that the bottom rider can’t see very much. However - the key to being good at luge is to look as little as possible. Sliders spend a lot of time memorizing the track - and the best will only take very quick glances to confirm where they are on the track. So while it’s true that the bottom rider on a doubles sled can’t see much - it doesn’t make much difference, since they shouldn’t be lifting their head up to look anyway.