Wanting to truly be part of a team sent 2-time Olympian Christian Niccum back to doubles luge

Niccum says he was made for doubles luge

Christian Niccum has a simple explanation for why he prefers doubles luge.

“Well, luge is the French word for sledding,” Niccum said. “So when you think of sledding, that’s something you typically do with two people.”

Right there, that represents the logic behind his thinking a few years ago to abandon a relatively brief career in singles luge — sliding solo, he was 23rd at the Turin Olympics in 2006 — and return to doubles, where he was a four-time junior world champion and five-time World Cup medalist.

It’s tough to argue that decision, especially now that he and partner Dan Joye are heading to the Vancouver Games next month with a realistic chance for a medal at the Whistler Sliding Center. They are the top-ranked American duo, currently one point ahead of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin with one race remaining in the World Cup season.

“When you go down in singles, when you’re going down by yourself all the time, it’s fun. It’s a good ride and tends to be a little bit faster,” said Niccum, a Woodinville, Wa., native who turns 32 on Wednesday. “But you don’t really have anybody to share it with. With doubles, I like sharing the experience as we go down the track with somebody.”

To anyone who just happens to watch a race, it looks as though gravity is the only guide as two men — it’s always men, although no rules preclude women from doubles luge — are stacked atop a sled picking up speed as it careens down the icy track.

In reality, it’s anything but easy.

Niccum is bigger than Joye, so he’s the front driver, the man on top. Gentle shifts of his body tell Joye — who, at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, is about 7 inches and 35 pounds smaller than Niccum — when it’s time to turn the sled. Niccum essentially steers with his feet, Joye steers with his shoulders.

Niccum has two advantages. One, he can see what’s happening. Two …

“Being on top, it’s kind of nice because I have a cushion underneath me,” Niccum said. “Makes it a little smoother.”

Added USA Luge spokesman Sandy Caligiore: “Especially when Dan’s only looking at the back of a head. Exhilarating.”

Niccum never lost his affinity for doubles luge, even when he was making the Olympics in singles.

He wanted to do doubles as well at the Turin Games, a bid that, perhaps ironically, was derailed when Joye made the team with former partner Preston Griffall and won the right to join Grimmette and Martin on the squad that wound up racing high in the Italian Alps.

Eventually, Niccum and Joye were paired, and their rise has been steady ever since.

“Four years ago, I was trying to make the doubles team and was actually competing against Dan and his old teammate to make that team,” Niccum said. “He’s the one who won last time, so I feel lucky to have him. Now he’s on my team, he’s with me and I think it’s a good plan we have working together. We fit really well on the sled and we work really well together. It’s nice.”

Plus, for two guys who couldn’t have more different backgrounds — Niccum from the Pacific Northwest, Joye born in Venezuela and raised in the Dominican Republic before his family moved to New York state — they have plenty in common.

Both are married, spending several months a year away from their wives as they slide around the world. Both have young children as well, and tend to rely on one another to deal with the perils that accompany not seeing their kids for long stretches at a time.

Shared experiences have helped make them a strong pair, both off and on the ice. And that’s what Niccum finds the most enjoyable part of another Olympic run.

“We’ve made a lot of sacrifices to be here,” Joye said.