The Olympic Sliding Centre (올림픽 슬라이딩 센터) is a

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

, and

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

track that is located in

Daegwallyeong Daegwallyeong (Hangul: 대관령; Hanja: ) is a -high mountain pass in the Taebaek Mountains of eastern South Korea. It runs between Pyeongchang and Gangneung in Gangwon Province. It is an important historical pass that connects the regions of ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The centre is located between the

Alpensia The Alpensia Resort ( ko, 알펜시아 리조트) is a ski resort and a tourist attraction. It is located on the territory of the township of Daegwallyeong-myeon, in the county of Pyeongchang. Overview The ski resort is approximately 2.5 hours fro ...

and

Yongpyong Resort Yongpyong (Dragon Valley) Ski Resort is a ski resort in South Korea, located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. It is the largest ski and snowboard resort in Korea, and offers golf in the summer months. A 1949 news article covere ...

. The venue is one of only two operating sliding facilities in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, along with the

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It was renamed from Alpensia Sliding Centre to Olympic Sliding Centre in June 2017.

Championships hosted

* 2016-2017

Luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

, and

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

World Cups * 2018

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

, and

Track technical details

Construction

The venue was built by

Daelim Daelim Industrial was established in 1939, and its E&C (Engineering & Construction) and Petrochemical Groups are the main lead of the Daelim Business Conglomerate (Chaebol). The fields covered by Daelim Industrial as one of the top EPC Company ...

under the responsibility of the Gangwon Province. The construction cost (about ), to be shared between the country and the regional authorities: National Government , Local Government . The construction of the Alpensia Sliding Centre started in March 2014 and was completed in the final months of 2017.Groundbreaking Ceremony held for PyeongChang 2018 Sliding Centre
- International Olympic Committee - March 11, 2014

Characteristics

It occupies a surface of , and has a range in altitude from above sea level at the top of the track down to above sea level at finish line. The track itself is long (to commemorate the Olympics), and is wide. The venue can also hold 7,000 attendants, with 1,000 seats and standing room for the remaining 6,000.

2018 Winter Olympics

During coverage of the Games on

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the track was referred to as "The House of Speed" while turns 9-12 were referred to as "Run Breaker" for the fact they slowed down the sleds so much that it costs sliders positions, including medals. The best known example was

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Felix Loch Felix Loch (; born 24 July 1989) is a German luger and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and on the German national team since 2006. He has won fourteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with twelve golds (Men's singles ...

who was leading after three runs in the luge men's singles event only to have problems during the final run through "Run Breaker", causing the two-time defending Olympic champion to finish 5th. Turn 2 was named 'Soju' by sliders, after the local Korean liquor, because "it messes you up." During the Games, the Turn 9-10-11 sequence was christened the name "The Dragon's Tail". Tweak the Dragon's Tail and you'll pay the price. Other Dragon-based names appeared in the Downhill and Slalom courses, reflecting the importance of the Dragon in Korean mythology. Turn 14 was named The Olympic Curve - inspired by the PyeongChang 2018 logo, set in the ice.

Track Records

References

{{coord, 37.6537139, 128.681389, region:KR-42_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks Olympic bobsleigh venues Olympic luge venues Olympic skeleton venues Sports venues in Pyeongchang County 2017 establishments in South Korea Sports venues completed in 2017