Winter Olympics 2022 - The crash-filled Curve 13 is proving unlucky for Olympic luge and bobsled events

If you're the superstitious type, you've likely taken notice of Curve 13 of the Flying Dragon Course in Beijing. It's the one that caused all sorts of difficulty for the luge events and today it ended the Olympic medal hopes of Great Britain's two-man bobsled.

While Curve 9 proved to be the troublesome bend at Pyeongchang 2018 for those throwing themselves down an ice track at speeds exceeding 80 mph, it's No. 13 that has been unlucky in Beijing for the lugers and Great Britain driver Brad Hall, who misjudged it in the third heat to leave Britain's hopes head over heels with the team skidding along the course.

«You go into survival mode, it's the tightest grip you have,» GB brakeman Nick Gleeson said. «Thankfully it was a small crash compared to some of the ones I've had. It's an adrenaline rush — not the most ideal one — but I'm glad we're safe and sound and we went back up for the fourth run.»

That tricky turn — on the verge of the finale to the course and just before the double chicane of 14 and 15 — caused carnage on Monday in the first two legs of the women's singles luge. The course is in the shape of a dragon, so it's the creature's tail that is tripping up the hopefuls. The lugers had only limited time on the course — alongside the track walk, they had six practice runs to learn its intricacies — before they competed.

Back on the first Monday of the Games, one of the precompetition favorites, Germany's Julia Taubitz, lost control on that bend, flipped her luge and skidded. The same fate befell the USA's Emily Sweeney.

«That was hard,» Sweeney said. «It's a tough spot you have to come out right, if you're not correct coming out then the track gives away and you're weightless. If you're crooked a little bit in your