place_of_birth justin snith
A luge is a small one - or two - person sled on which one sleds supine ( face up ) and feet - first . Steering is done by flexing the sled ' s runners with the calf ___MASK25___ each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat . Racing sleds weigh 21  25 kilograms ( 46  55 lb ) for singles and 25  30 kilograms ( 55  66 lb ) for doubles . Luge is also the name ___MASK25___ an Olympic sport . Lugers can reach speeds ___MASK25___ 140 km per hour ( 87 mph ). Manuel Pfister ___MASK25___ Austria , reached a top speed ___MASK25___ 154 km per hour ( 95 . 69 mph ) on the track in Whistler , Canada prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics . Lugers compete against a timer , and on artificial tracks they are timed to a thousandth ___MASK25___ a second , making luge one ___MASK25___ the most precisely timed sports in the world . The first recorded use ___MASK25___ the term " luge " is 1905 , from the Savoy / Swiss dialect ___MASK25___ French " luge " meaning " small coasting sled ", and is possibly from a Gaulish word with the same root as English sled . ___MASK29___ ( French : ) is a country in the northern half ___MASK25___ North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering , making it the world ' s second - largest country by total area and the fourth - largest country by land area . ___MASK29___ ' s border with the United States is the world ' s longest land border . The majority ___MASK25___ the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate , but southerly areas are warm in summer . ___MASK29___ is sparsely populated , the majority ___MASK25___ its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains . About four - fifths ___MASK25___ the country ' s population ___MASK25___ 36 million people is urbanized and live near the southern border . Its capital is Ottawa , its largest city is ___MASK50___ ; other major urban areas include Montreal , Vancouver , ___MASK16___ , Edmonton , Quebec City , Winnipeg and Hamilton . Justin Snith ( born December 8 , 1991 ) is a Canadian luger who has competed since 2008 . He has three Luge World Cup double ' s podiums finish . Snith qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics with Tristan Walker where he finished 15th . Snith also qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , Russia . He competed in both the Doubles race and the Team Relay ( which made its Olympic appearance in 2014 ) . He and his teammate Tristan Walker missed the podium in the doubles event by just five - one hundredths ( 0 . 05 ) ___MASK25___ a second for the best - ever Olympic result by a Canadian sled in the event . They joined Alex Gough and Samuel Edney and had another Olympic fourth place finish . The team has won silver at the 2013 World Championships following bronze in 2012 . Manuel Pfister ( born December 4 , 1988 ) is an Austrian luger who has competed since 1999 . His ___MASK96___ finish at the FIL World Luge Championships was 17th in the men ' s singles event at Oberhof in 2008 . A sled , sledge , or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth , relatively narrow , longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface . ___MASK56___ commonly sleds are used on snow or ice , however in certain cases they may be used on any surfaces , especially on ones with relatively low friction , such as sand or wet grass . They may be used to transport passengers , cargo , or both . Shades ___MASK25___ meaning differentiating the three terms often reflect regional variations depending on historical uses and prevailing climate . The 2010 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les " XXIes Jeux olympiques d ' hiver ") and commonly known as ___MASK5___ 2010 , informally the 21st Winter Olympics , were a major international multi - sport event held from February 12 to 28 , 2010 , in ___MASK5___ , British ___MASK45___ , Canada , with some events held in the surrounding suburbs ___MASK25___ Richmond , West ___MASK5___ and the University Endowment Lands , and in the nearby resort town ___MASK25___ Whistler . Approximately 2 , 600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines . Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the ___MASK5___ Organizing Committee ( VANOC ), headed by John Furlong . The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province ___MASK25___ British ___MASK45___ . Previously , Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , ___MASK28___ , and the 1988 Winter Olympics in ___MASK16___ , Alberta . ___MASK5___ is the largest city to host the Winter Olympics .