Nobody knows for certain when luge — the French word for sled — started, since nobody surely took note of the first time someone slid feet-first down a slope. Some say the 15th century, with evidence that there were races in Norway around that time. USA Luge believes that the sport could ...

Former U.S. skeleton athlete John Daly was once asked why anyone would decide to hurl themselves, head first, down an ice-coated mountainside chute on a thin sled with no safety equipment other than a helmet. Daly laughed. “If I knew that, I probably wouldn’t be out here,” he ...