Skeleton racer

Skeleton

Nozomi Komuro pushes off at the start
Highest governing body	International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation
First played	Late 19th century, Switzerland
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	1
Type	Winter sport, time trial
Venue	Skeleton tracks
Presence
Olympic	1928, 1948, 2002 to present

Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.

Unlike other sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge, the race always involves single riders. Like bobsleigh, but unlike luge, the race begins with a running start from the opening gate at the top of the course. The skeleton sled is thinner and heavier than the luge sled, plus skeleton gives the rider more control making it safer than luge. Skeleton is the slowest of the three sliding sports, as skeleton's face down head-first riding position is less aerodynamic than luge's face up, feet-first ride.

Previously, skeleton appeared in the Olympic program in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1928 and again in 1948. It was added permanently to the Olympic program for the 2002 Winter Olympics, at which stage a women's race was added.

During elite racing the rider experiences forces up to 5 g and reaches speeds over 130 km/h (80 mph).

The skeleton originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as a spinoff of the popular British sport called Cresta sledding. Although skeleton "sliders" use equipment similar to that of Cresta "riders", the two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same track used by bobsleds and luge, Cresta is run on Cresta-specific sledding tracks only. Skeleton sleds are steered using torque provided by the head and shoulders. The Cresta toboggan does not have a steering or braking mechanism, though Cresta riders use rakes on their boots in addition to shifting body weight to help steer and brake.