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 ...
is a winter sport featured in the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
where the competitor rides head-first and prone (lying face down) on a flat sled. It is normally run on an ice track that allows the sled to gain speed by gravity. It was first contested at the
1928 Winter Olympics
The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...
in
St. Moritz and again in
1948 Winter Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...
, after which it was discontinued as an Olympic sport.
In October 1999, the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) added the discipline to the
2002 Salt Lake City Olympics sports program, with both men's and women's events, and has been held in each Winter Olympic competition since. In June 2022, the IOC added a third event, the mixed team, to the sports program at the
2026 Winter Olympics
)
, nations =
, athletes =
, events = 116 in 8 sports
, opening = 6 February 2026
, closing = 22 February 2026
, opened_by =
, cauldron =
, stadium = San Siro Verona Arena
, wint ...
.
Skeleton is so-named as the first metal sleds introduced in 1892 were said to resemble a human skeleton. The sport is similar to, but not to be confused with,
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 ...
, another form of sled racing where the competitor rides on the back and feet-first. Often using the same courses, the racing physics are not identical.
Events
Medal table
Sources (after the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
):
''Accurate as of
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
.''
Participating nations
Numbers indicate the number of skeleton racers each nation sent to each respective edition of the games.
See also
*
List of Olympic venues in skeleton
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skeleton At The Winter Olympics
Sports at the Winter Olympics
Skeleton at multi-sport events