Luge made its Winter Olympic debut at Innsbruck in 1964. The sport was contested at the Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck from January 30 to February 4, with men’s singles, women’s singles, and doubles events.
Luge had been considered for the 1960 Winter Olympics, but Squaw Valley lacked a suitable track, so its Olympic introduction was delayed. By Innsbruck, Austria had built a track at Igls, allowing the sport to join the official program. Germany dominated the first Olympic luge competition, winning five of the nine available medals.
The debut also came under difficult circumstances. British slider Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki died during a practice run shortly before the Games began, highlighting the risks of high-speed sliding sports. Luge is sometimes confused with skeleton, which returned to the Olympic program in 2002 after earlier appearances, or bobsleigh, an older Olympic sliding sport.