What is the luge mixed team relay event?

The luge mixed team relay is one of nine mixed events that are featuring at Beijing 2022 as the International Olympic Committee continues to work towards increasing gender equality at the Games.

The mixed team really was first introduced to the Olympic programme in 2014, when the German team of Natalie Geisenberger, Felix Loch, Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl stormed to the gold medal in Sochi. Germany were victorious again at PyeongChang 2018, and will be the favourites to top the podium in Beijing.

The relay event will be the last of the luge competitions at Beijing 2022, and is scheduled to take place on 10 February 2022. Find out all you need to know about the event here.

Luge mixed team relay format at Beijing 2022

The luge mixed team relay made its Olympic debut at Sochi 2014 but has featured at the world championships since 1989.

The event consists of three disciplines: women’s singles, men’s singles and doubles.

The relay starts with the women's singles sled. When the athlete reaches the end of the track, she hits an overhead touchpad to open the start gate for the men's singles sled, who begin their run before striking the touchpad to release the doubles sled that makes the final run down the course.

As soon as the women's singles sled begins its run, the clock starts running and only ends when the doubles sled strikes the touchpad. The winner of the event is the team with the lowest time after all three sleds have finished.

The starting order is determined by the ranking of each nation in reverse order. One team per NOC is allowed to compete in the team relay - one man, one woman, and one doubles team entered in their individual disciplines.

When and where to follow the Olympic luge team relay at Beijing 2022

The luge events, as well as all the sliding events, are taking place at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre. The track is 1,615 meters, with a maximum gradient of 18 per cent and 16 curves with a unique 360-degree turn.

The team relay will be the last luge event on 10 February 2022.

What’s new? An Olympian explains

The luge team relay is a unique opportunity for athletes to earn an Olympic medal. For triple world champion Roman Repilov, having more events and trying to reach gender equity is a good way to improve the visibility of his sport.

"As far as I know, there are plans to have [an equal number of male and female luge athletes] at the Olympics. And in this sense, we are moving in the right direction.

"We have a mixed relay and [perhaps] there will be a new event [in the future] - women’s doubles [tested for the first time during Lausanne 2020]. I think it’s good if that boosts our sport, because our sport is fully underestimated in the media and on all fronts. And if mixed events will raise our exposure...then I'm all for it."

Repilov dreams about pushing the boundaries even more, saying: "Perhaps, someday there will be mixed doubles (laughing), which is unlikely, of course, but we'll see. There would have been family couples at the Olympics and world championships"

Who are the athletes to look out for at Beijing 2022?

Germany is the powerhouse of luge at the Olympic Games. At Sochi 2014, in the Olympic debut of the mixed team event, the German quartet of Natalie Geisenberger, Felix Loch and the doubles Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl won gold by almost a full second ahead of Russia (silver) and Latvia (bronze).

Four years later, at PyeongChang 2018, the German team (with Johannes Ludwig replacing Felix Loch) won gold again. Germany has won a total of 17 world championship titles in team relay since 1989, with an impressive tally of 13 victories in a row between 1999 and 2019.

However, at the 2021 FIL World Championships, the Austrian team of Madeleine Egle, David Gleirscher and the doubles sled of Thomas Steu/Lorenz Koller claimed gold ahead of Germany; it's important to note that the Austrian squad also won the first World Cup event in Yanqining in November 2021, which is staging the sliding events at Beijing 2022.

Keep an eye on the Lavtian team as well, with powerhouse duo Andris and Juris Šics among the best doubles pairs in the world.