The luge, French for sled, is a 
relatively new Olympic sport,
added to the games in 1964. There
are three luge events, women's singles and men's singles and
doubles.  The object of the event is
simple -- the competitor lies on his/her back on a small sled made of fiber-glass and plastic with steel
runners, and hurtles down an ice
chute for about three-quarters of a
mile, at breakneck speeds (up to
80 mph).  The participants, called sliders, can't see where they are
going, and they can steer only by
using isometric pressure to make the sled turn. 

This is the only Olympic sport 
timed in thousandths of a second.  
Despite that, the Italians and East 
Germans once tied for the Gold in 
Luge Doubles back in 1972.  The 
U.S. has never won a medal in a 
luge event.  Their best effort so far 
has been Cammy Myler's fifth place 
finish in 1992.