On Sunday February 11, Chris Mazdzer became the first American man to win a medal in luge since it became an Olympic sport in 1964. “It means everything,” Mazdzer said in an interview on NBC after his win. David Gleirscher from Austria captured the gold, and Johannes Ludwig from Germany went home with bronze.
Luge is the fastest sport in the Winter Olympics. Athletes lie flat on a small sled and launch themselves feet-first down an icy track. They can hit speeds up to 140 kilometers (90 miles) per hour! Sliders go so fast that race times are measured in thousandths of a second. Short-track speed skating is the only other sport timed to this level of precision.