Feet first downhill on a sled at cheetah speed: What to know about luge at the Winter Olympics

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 date all the way back to around 800 B.C., citing research that Vikings used sleds that had two runners, kind of like those kids have gotten for decades.

The sport, at least as we know it now, began taking off in 1964. It's all about speed, sliders on their backs, going feet-first and reaching more than 85 mph (137 kph) on some of the tracks that are in use around the world today. Here is what to know as the Winter Olympics arrive.

Luge features men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles in the Olympic program along with a team relay featuring one entrant from each discipline. Sliders push off of handles to start their run, then dig their fingertips – using gloves with tiny spikes on them – into the ice to help generate more speed before getting settled on the sled for the trip down the chute. They use their bodies (hands, leg, weight) to make minor steering adjustments. There are no brakes, so the athletes pull up the front of the sled and use their feet to slow down as the track tilts uphill.

The easy answer for this used to be “the Germans,” but the fields are more wide open these days. Germany still has stars like back-to-back men’s world champion Max Langenhan, the legendary Felix Loch and women’s world champion Julia Taubitz. But host Italy (led by Dominik Fischnaller) should be strong, Austria is loaded (especially Madeleine Egle in women’s singles, Selina Egle and Lara Kipp in women’s doubles, and Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl in men’s doubles) and the Americans (including Summer Britcher, Ashley Farquharson and Emily Fischnaller in women’s singles) have a slew of legitimate medal hopefuls. Women’s doubles is in the Olympic program for the first time this winter.

Competition will take place from Feb. 7-12 at the Cortina Sliding Center.

The U.S. has won six Olympic medals, but none of them gold – three silver and three bronze. There was a tie for gold at the 1972 Olympics in men’s doubles, when Italy’s Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner had the same time as East Germany’s Horst Hörnlein and Reinhard Bredow. Official timing was extended to thousandths of a second after that race, instead of the hundredths like in many sports.

It could be a home Olympics for Emily Fischnaller; the veteran U.S. slider has competed under the name Emily Sweeney until this season. She married Italian star Dominik Fischnaller in 2025 and the couple has a home a short drive from the Cortina track. … The Tobis — German doubles stars Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt — have a chance to break a tie with retired German women’s great Natalie Geisenberger as the most decorated Olympic lugers ever. Wendl and Arlt have six golds, matching Geisenberger’s total. She has seven medals overall, one more than the Tobis. To give some idea of Germany’s dominance in luge, consider this: Germany has 22 gold medals, the most of any nation. Second on that list? That would be East Germany, which hasn’t existed since 1990, with 13 golds.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - Julia Taubitz, of Germany, celebrates after winning the women's singles event at the Luge World Championships, in Whistler, B.C., on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Felix Loch of Germany reacts after he placed second in the men's race of the Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Roman Koksarov, File)

FILE - Max Langenhan of Germany smiles after the men's sprint race at the Luge World Cup in Igls near Innsbruck, Austria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

FILE - Madeleine Egle, of Austria, starts a luge women's singles training run at the 2022 Winter Olympics, on Feb. 5, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

FILE - Dominik Fischnaller of Italy reacts after his second run of the men's race of the Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Roman Koksarov, File)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves had plenty of lulls during the regular season, seemingly coasting at times while struggling to recapture the form that fueled them to consecutive Western Conference finals appearances over the last two years.

The postseason switch sure got flipped against the rival Denver Nuggets, as the players promised all along. The energy and urgency was never greater than in the series-clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday, when the determined Timberwolves shook off the absence of their three best guards and beat the Nuggets 110-98.

“Still part of our growth,” coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve been really good with the high moments. Our consistency sometimes throughout the season isn’t always there, which we don’t really like about ourselves, but we know we have it in ourselves to meet these moments.”

Jaden McDaniels clearly does.

Nobody on the Timberwolves embodies the mercurial nature of this close-knit but often-moody team than McDaniels, the sixth-year forward who made a name for himself in this series.

Tirelessly chasing All-Star guard Jamal Murray around screens and everywhere he tried to go along the perimeter, limiting him to 4-for-17 shooting in Game 6, McDaniels did even more on the offensive end.

With a big chunk of the team's shot creation missing due to injuries to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, McDaniels went 13 for 25 from the floor for 32 points with 10 rebounds.

“What I was the most proud about him was just his emotional control, being able to stay poised, not overreact to adversity, calls or missed shots, or mistakes,” teammate Rudy Gobert said. "He stayed present, and he stepped up big time when we needed him the most, so I’m really, really proud of him.”

McDaniels tossed even more spice into this well-developed rivalry early in the series with his blanket “ bad defenders ” jab at the opponent, and he made no secret of the motivation he gets from seeing “Denver” or “Nuggets” sewed on the other team's jersey.

“The only thing I said to him, after he had made his comments, was, ‘Now it’s time to back it up,’” Finch said. “And talking doesn’t matter. You've got to go do it. I knew he was going to put the effort in, so he was ready for it, and he owned it, and he responded.”

McDaniels later irked Nuggets star Nikola Jokic by taking an uncontested layup in the closing seconds of Minnesota's blowout win in Game 4, sparking a brief shoving match.

McDaniels had his worst game of the series in the loss in Game 5 on Monday, when he was booed often by the Denver crowd, but he responded on his home court with one of the best games of his career.

With the Timberwolves trying to put away the game, McDaniels delivered the dagger shot — swishing his signature mid-range pull-up to give them a seven-point lead with 1:06 to play. Then he intercepted a harried pass by Jokic to get the ball back and start a parade to the line.

Jokic gave McDaniels a hug after the final horn, a sign of respect from the three-time NBA MVP despite the irritation he caused all series long.

“I’m just happy it’s over, happy we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “Stuff was said. I’m just happy we were all able to prove our point, get the win and move on to the next round.”

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have been waiting. They'll host Game 1 on Monday.

“I figured the real winner of this series was going to be San Antonio, because both these teams were going to take a lot of pieces out of each other, and did,” Finch said. “So I’m not sure what we have left standing there before we go down there.”

Even if they're short-handed and overmatched, the Timberwolves are a good bet to put up a strong fight.

“You have to believe that you can win, no matter what,” Gobert said. "Obviously we’re missing some pretty important players, right? But no matter who’s out there, we believe in our defense. We believe in trusting one another. Anything’s possible.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) celebrates a basket against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez celebrates during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo, left, looks on during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) celebrates his three-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)