You start in a standing position, as in the bobsleigh. After the initial push, the athlete dives into a prone position on the sled and descends at 130 km/h on the same icy bobsleigh track, steering the equipment through their body movements.
Sport Curiosities
SKELETON
THRILL-SEEKING TOURISTS
Sleighing is one of the oldest winter sports. Descriptions of the sport can be found in 16th-century literature. However, as a racing sport, it can be traced to the mid-19th century, when British tourists started sliding down snowbound roads in the Alps.
THE SKELETON RUN
Skeleton racing owes much of its history to St Moritz and the famous Cresta Run, a natural track linking St Moritz and Celerina. As E. F. Benson wrote in 1913: "There is a Mecca, there is a St Peter's Basilica, and there is a Cresta".
OLYMPIC HISTORY
Men’s skeleton made two early appearances on the Olympic programme at its “ancestral” home of St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948. It was then dropped until it reappeared as a men’s and women’s event at Salt Lake City in 2002.
RACE
Athletes have two runs, with the final ranking determined by the sum of their times.
