(Courtesy of USA Luge Public Relations)

100 MPH on a Luge Sled… It's Possible

WHISTLER, Canada --- It will take more time to assess whether it is
the most technically challenging track in the world, but the Whistler
Sliding Center 2010 Olympic luge track looks like it will be the
fastest. Sliders from seven countries participated in last week's
International Luge Federation (F.I.L.) homologation (certification)
and gave the 1,450-meter long, 16-cruve course on the Blackcomb
Mountain in Whistler, Canada the thumbs up after reaching speeds of
90-miles-per-hour.

"We were going 145 [kilometers-per-hour: k/h] in training gear and
training steels," said Tony Benshoof (White Bear Lake, Minn.), one of
four American sliders who participated in the four-day certification
process. "I'm guessing, on good ice, 155 [k/h] or maybe even faster,
it's going to be 95-miles-per-hour for sure… 100-percent it's going to
be 95-miles-per-hour. At those speeds position is the key."

Benshoof should know a little something about speed. The 32-year-old
is included in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest-ever
recorded luge speed, 86.6-miles-per-hour (a new record will likely
follow the new track once Guinness standards are applied). He also
competed in both the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The 2002
Olympic course, in Park City, Utah, was dubbed the world's fastest
track, while during the 2006 winter games, in Torino, Italy, he
recorded the two fastest men's singles race runs of 86.5
miles-per-hour each. Benshoof says that sliders can't get too caught
up in the beautiful scenery that surrounds the track, because from top
to bottom this course was not built for slow pokes or the faint of heart.

"It's amazing how the track drops from curve one to the exit of curve
two. Someone told me it was a 20-degree slope on curve-two, which I
think is the most steep curve on the circuit," added Benshoof. "I
kind of dubbed it `Waterfall' for a couple of reasons. First of all,
there is a waterfall that travels underneath it, but man, you also
feel like you're going off a waterfall when you come down it because
you go from zero to 120 [k/h] in the course of about 10 seconds.
"On the bottom half, you go into warp speed…..you really do. It
wasn't until the last day those curves started slowing down in my
head. Before that, it was just a big blur."

While the foreign athletes have packed up and left, the Canadian squad
remained behind for another week to try and find even more speed and
learn more about the track's nuances. The Olympic international
training week is scheduled for Nov. 3 through 9, while the World Cup
test event is slated for Feb. 16 through 22. The Olympic luge
competitions begin Feb. 13, 2010.

For more information on the Fastest Sport on Ice®, log on to
www.usaluge.org