Luge will be the third discipline in which Argentina will be present at the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026, with Verónica Ravenna as the national representative.Considered one of the most extreme sports in the Olympic program, it combines reflexes, balance, and precision at maximum speed, with athletes launching themselves down icy tracks at over 150 kilometers per hour, with decisions made by thousandths of a second.According to information reported to the Argentine News Agency, luge originated in Switzerland and its roots date back to the 16th century, although its entry into the Olympic calendar came only in Innsbruck 1964, when the first men's, women's, and doubles events were held.Over time, the sport incorporated new modalities, such as the team relay, which debuted in Sochi 2014, while Milano Cortina 2026 will mark a historic novelty: the Olympic debut of women's doubles, expanding the program and participation in the discipline.In individual luge, both in the women's and men's categories, competitors compete on the same track and complete four runs spread over two days, with times timed to the thousandth of a second and summed to determine the final result.In the women's event, athletes start from a lower point at the start compared to men, a detail that is part of the competitive design of the discipline.Added to this is the team relay, a dynamic competition in which four teams participate: individual women, individual men, women's doubles, and men's doubles.The key to the format lies in the baton pass: each athlete must hit a panel at the finish line to release the barrier that enables the next team member to start, in a sequence where there is no margin for error.In Milano Cortina 2026, luge will feature five events in total and will once again be positioned as one of the main attractions of the calendar due to its combination of speed and controlled risk.Athletes compete lying on their backs, feet first, on a small sled without mechanical brakes, guided only by minimal body movements and specially sharpened blades, on a course where they can withstand up to 6G of pressure in tight turns.In this scenario, Ravenna will face a new Olympic experience in a discipline that requires mental strength, absolute control, and surgical precision to challenge ice in its maximum expression.The winner is the one who records the lowest accumulated time after completing all descents.The doubles modality, for its part, is held in a single day, with each pair completing runs, under the same criterion: gold is decided by the best total time summed.
