Video: Take a thrilling ride down the track with an Olympic luger
Just how fast are Olympic lugers traveling when they fly down the track? Well, it depends, but some runs on a luge sled can approach 90 miles per hour.
That's right — Olympians are moving faster than interstate speeds on a sled without any type of safety harness. Sliders use steels attached to the sled to maintain traction, along with using handles or their body weight to help steer down the course.
To get an idea of what that might look like, Olympic luge athlete Tucker West strapped a GoPro camera to his helmet before completing a speedy run in Lake Placid, New York.
That track, known formally as the Mt. Van Hoevenberg track, has hosted two Olympics and a number of international World Cup events.
It is more than 5,511 feet (1,680 meters) long and features a vertical drop of roughly 419 feet (128 meters). For reference, the new luge track being used in the 2022 Beijing Olympics is approximately 6,479 feet (1,975 meters) long and features about 393 feet (120 meters) of vertical drop.
Open the video player above to watch a full, timed run from West.