Luge athletes control the sled with very small, very precise movements of their legs, shoulders, and body weight while lying almost flat at high speed.

How they actually steer

  • The main “steering wheel” is their calves pressing on the sled’s runners (often called the horns).
    • To turn left, they press more with the right calf; to turn right, they press with the left calf.
* This flexes the steel runners slightly, changing how they contact the ice and gently bending the sled into the new direction.
  • They also use shoulders and upper body :
    • Rolling or pushing a shoulder down into the sled helps twist the pod and shift the balance points on the runners, tightening the turn when needed.
* In doubles, the front athlete leads with vision and head movement while the back athlete adds stronger shoulder input for bigger steering forces.
  • Subtle weight shifts :
    • Turning the head toward the curve naturally shifts part of the upper body weight, which helps start the sled in that direction before stronger inputs are needed.
* Tiny shifts in hips and torso fine‑tune the line through each corner to stay on the fastest path.
  • Hands are mostly not used to “drive” in race mode:
    • During the start, they use spiked gloves to paddle and gain speed over the first few meters.
* On the way down, hands usually stay close to the body to stay aerodynamic, but a light brush of a hand on the ice can help correct or initiate a turn in rare cases.

What “control” means at 80–90 mph

  • Only a few centimeters of steel are actually touching the ice, so the sled is very sensitive to any input.
  • The trick is minimal steering : every unnecessary movement scrubs speed, so the best lugers look like they’re almost motionless even though they’re constantly making micro‑corrections.
  • They aim for a “perfect line” through each curve; steering too early or too hard lifts the sled or pushes it into the wall, costing time and sometimes control.

In simple terms

Imagine lying on your back on a super‑slick skateboard going downhill:

  • Your legs and shoulders are your steering, not a wheel.
  • You nudge the board by pressing with one leg, rolling a shoulder, and shifting your weight just enough to glide through the turns without skidding out.

That’s basically how they control the luge—tiny, timed movements of calves, shoulders, and body weight, all while staying as still and aerodynamic as possible.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.