Skeleton

Skeleton dates back to the late 19th century in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Here, the Cresta Run was built in 1885. This natural ice track 1214 metres long is still considered a legendary run in the sport. In 1887, participants began to run the race face down following the invention of this variant by the Englishman McCormac. Skeleton was born.

The discipline was named in retrospect. It dates back to 1892 when a new type of sled was introduced: essentially a metal frame resembling the structure of the human skeleton.

For decades, skeleton competitions took place only in St. Moritz. It is no coincidence that skeleton was included in the Olympic programme for both editions of the Games hosted by the Swiss resort (1928 and 1948). Due to its dangers and the lack of suitable tracks, the sport remained absent from the Olympic scene for over fifty years, but was reintroduced in the Olympic programme in Salt Lake City 2002 with the men's and women's events. At Milano Cortina 2026, the mixed team event will be added to the programme.

In skeleton races, the athletes start standing as in bobsled. At the green light, they have 30''' to start. After the initial run from 25 to 40 metres, where they push the sled, holding it by the special supports, they jump onto the sledge, guiding it throughout the descent using just body movements. Speeds of up to 130–140 km/hr can be reached.

The races take place on an ice track which is also used for luge and bobsled. The length of the track ranges from 1200 metres to 1650 metres, with a maximum slope of 12%. The skeleton track at Beijing 2022 featured the first 180° turn in the Winter Olympic Games.

The first and only Italian gold medal in skeleton at the Olympic Games was won by Nino Bibbia. It was also the very first Italian medal won at the Winter Olympics.