This Heart-Stopping First-Person View Reveals The Daredevil Nature Of Luge
Get ready to have your stomach turn.
If you’re a fan of the Winter Olympics, you’ve probably heard of the sport known as "luge." But do you have any idea what it's like to be an athlete in this event?
Done solo or with a teammate, luge involves racing down an icy track feet first as fast as humanely possible. Racers routinely reach speeds of 90 mph as they navigate a series of stomach-lurching turns over a lengthy track (1,470 yards for men, 1,313 for women). You’ve probably seen some races while you’ve waited for men’s hockey or figure skating to come on.
Ukraine's Olena Smaha takes part in the luge women's singles training session at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP via Getty Images)
I’ve done some pretty risky things before, but I’ve got my limits. Sometimes, even the athletes themselves harshly meet the risks of their craft. Unfortunately, Georgian Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a practice run in this sport just before the beginning of the 2010 games in Vancouver.
So yeah, don’t do this sport unless cheating death is a hobby you and your buddy enjoy. (I couldn’t imagine doing this sport solo, let alone with my friend piled on me).
Even so, some of us have that curious streak in us that makes us wonder, "What does it look like when you’re flying feet-first at 90 mph?" Thankfully, Team Latvia filled us in with this breathtaking first-person video of one of its racers during a run.
That is equal parts terrifying and sensational. Doesn’t hearing that wind whip get your adrenaline pumping?
I’m of the persuasion that Winter Olympic athletes are some of the most skilled and brave in the world. This video did nothing to change that opinion.
But it also opened me up to the terrifying realities of the craft these men and women have perfected, and I can definitely understand it's not something I’ll be trying.
Maybe curling? That seems a lot friendlier to the stress levels.