Luge is a sport where athletes lie down on a sled set on metal runners and hurtle down a solid ice track at up to 90 miles per hour through steep slopes and challenging turns — all without mechanical brakes. It’s also a sport where the athletes are deeply invested in the building, maintenance and fine-tuning of the sled to achieve world-class performance. Norton products and people are making it possible for these athletes to go for the gold.

High technology, high thrills

Today’s sleds are made using computer simulation, 3D printing and other state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and materials. The runners are specially built from metals and alloys custom-suited for their purpose: reducing friction on ice. Careful research and extensive testing go into every aspect of the sled’s shape, design, materials, construction and refinement — before, during and after every competition.

For 45 years, the Norton team has supplied highly competitive abrasive products for USA Luge athletes. Then, in 2009, Norton became the primary sponsor for the team, and this continuing partnership now involves support in many other areas. Norton provides financial backing, enabling athletes to train, travel and compete globally in competitions staged across three continents with significantly less financial burden. Experts on the Norton staff also offer best-practice training and guidance on appropriate abrasive products. In addition, Norton continues to provide research on sled fabrication materials and new technologies impacting the sport.

Source: Norton Abrasives

“Once we began to understand how our products were being used to fine-tune sled performance, we knew we could make a difference in how our national athletes compete,“ explained Abby Marschke, Norton executive director of marketing. “Our employees and the USA Luge team made such a natural fit that we knew this sponsorship would become more than just a financial relationship. Our people wanted to get engaged, and the personal relationships just continue to grow stronger. Truly, it’s exciting to see how our technical expertise is helping the athletes compete and win their way to the medal podium.”

Never-ending preparation

Luge athletes operate in a constant state of adjustment. They have to factor in weather conditions, where they are in race order and how many competitors have run down the track ahead of them, the track design, how the sled is responding in the conditions and so much more. Right up until the moment they mount the sled to make their run, they will tweak and adapt, including using Norton sandpaper on the runners.

Explained Tucker West, USA Luge athlete, “There’s a lot that goes into the runners. There’s a lot that goes the aerodynamics of the shell. So we teamed up with Norton/Saint-Gobain and they donated some of their smart minds to us to help us with our engineering. They help us with our steels, our metallurgy. They help us with sanding the runners, they help us with the shape of the runners. They help us with pretty much anything and everything with the runners and the sled in general. That technology allows us to be the best in the world. When we’re fighting for thousandths [of seconds], we’re able to get tenths on other countries.”

Watch the 2026 Winter Olympic Games to experience how Norton products play a role in making medal-winning dreams come true in many surprising ways.