Explainer | Winter Olympics: what is skeleton? Everything you need to know, from Beijing 2022 contenders to who invented it
- Extreme sledding sport sees athletes throw themselves down icy slope at speeds of up to 140 kilometres an hour
- Britain will be looking to continue success from Pyeongchang and Sochi, while China will look to benefit from home court advantage
The Winter Olympics isn’t short of extreme sports.
But one of the more unique events is the skeleton – where athletes throw themselves head first down an icy slope at speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour.
Here’s everything you need to know about the sport, ahead of its return to the global spotlight at February’s Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
What is skeleton?
Skeleton is a winter sport where athletes run and jump onto a sledge, belly down, and speed off down a track, using their legs and shoulders to control their direction. It’s similar to luge, except the athlete is racing head first, as opposed to being on their back.
Skeleton is one of the three sliding sports at Beijing 2022, alongside the luge and bobsleigh. The competition only has two events – the men’s and women’s singles – meaning only just medals are up for grabs, making competition for a podium spot fierce.
Both the men’s and women’s competitions consist of four runs over two days that are added together, and the athlete with the fastest combined time is the winner.
Who invented it?
Skeleton comes from the traditional winter activity of sleighing, which dates back to the 19th century in Switzerland. The sledges were often referred to as “skeletons”.