When it comes to Winter Olympics and sliding sports, most people think of the bobsled and luge. Yet the sport of skeleton is a closer link to our childhood when we would slide down snow-covered hills on sleds. Skeleton, however, takes that winter pastime to the extreme degree of speed and danger. Since it is a relative newcomer to the Winter Olympics, skeleton is not as well known as its other two sliding-sport cousins on the Olympic stage.
Definition
Skeleton is a sliding sport in which an athlete races down a fixed course similar to a bobsled run. It is similar to the luge, although they differ in terms of equipment and technique. The skeleton sled is made of a fiberglass seat and steel frame and runners. Unlike lugers, which ride feet first on their backs, skeleton racers go down face first on their stomachs. There are no breaks or steering controls on a skeleton sled. Racers navigate the sled with their body.
History
The origins of skeleton can be traced back to the late 1800s. In St. Moritz, Switzerland a curved course was constructed for luge-style sleds called the Cresta Run. In 1892, Englishman L.P. Child introduced a new kind of sled that could be ridden headfirst. The skeleton-like construction of the sled gave birth to the sport's name. Skeleton was a part of the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948 when they were held at St. Moritz, but the sport didn't become a permanent part of the winter games until 2002.
Competition
Olympic Skeleton includes men's and women's races. Events normally consist of multiple heats. The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, were the first Games in which the skeleton included four heats. The racer with the lowest combined time of all the heats wins the event. Skeleton racers begin with a 50 meter sprint while pushing their sleds. Once on the course, the skeleton can reach speeds of up to 135 km per hour. A skeleton track runs 1,500 m, each with its own twists and turns.
Physics
Just like other timed sports, skeleton competitions can be decided by the slimmest of margins, so every second counts. As reported by "Scientific American," members of the U.S. skeleton team prepared for the 2010 Winter Olympics by training in a simulator constructed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Athletes experimented with different streamlined equipment and worked on their body positions in order to maximize their runs.
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