Skeleton at the Winter Olympics

Skeleton at the Winter Olympics
IOC CodeSKN
Governing bodyIBSF
Events3 (men: 1; women: 1; mixed: 1)
Winter Olympics
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1994
  • 1998

Skeleton is a winter sport featured in the Winter Olympics 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 in St. Moritz and again in 1948 Winter Olympics, after which it was discontinued as an Olympic sport.

In October 1999, the International Olympic Committee (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.[1] In June 2022, the IOC added a third event, the mixed team, to the sports program at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[2][3]

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, another form of sled racing where the competitor also rides horizontal and alone but, unlike skeleton, supine (lying face up), rather than prone, and feet-first. Often using the same courses, the racing physics are not identical, with skeleton physics resembling bobsleigh more than luge. Luge is notably faster than skeleton because of the aerodynamic differences in the position.

A single rider form of bobsleigh itself, monobob, is also a Winter Olympic event for women, but is raced enclosed and in a seated position.

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
1
2 1928 1  United States (1)
3
4
5 1948 1  Italy (1)
6 → 18
19 2002 2  United States (2)
Games Year Events Best Nation
20 2006 2  Canada (1)
21 2010 2  Canada (2)
 Great Britain (1)
22 2014 2  Russia (1)
23 2018 2  Great Britain (2)
24 2022 2  Germany (1)
25 2026 3  Great Britain (3)

Events

Event 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22 26 Years
Men's skeleton • • • • • • • • • 9
Women's skeleton • • • • • • • 7
Mixed team skeleton • 1
Total events 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3

Medal table

Main article: List of Olympic medalists in skeleton

Accurate as of 2026 Winter Olympics.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain51511
2 United States3418
3 Germany26412
4 Canada2114
5 Austria1102
6 Russia1023
 Switzerland1023
8 Italy1001
 South Korea1001
10 Latvia0202
11 Australia0101
 Olympic Athletes from Russia0101
13 China0011
 Netherlands0011
Totals (14 entries)17171751

Participating nations

Numbers indicate the number of skeleton racers each nation sent to each respective edition of the games.

Nation 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22 26 Years
 American Samoa 1 1
 Argentina 1 1
 Australia 2 3 3 2 2 5
 Austria 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 8
 Belgium 1 1 2
 Bermuda 1 1
 Brazil 1 1
 Canada 5 5 6 4 6 3 6
 China 1 4 2
 Croatia 1 1
 Czech Republic 1 1 2
 France 1 1 1 1 1 5
 Germany 4 4 6 5 6 6 6
 Ghana 1 1
 Great Britain 1 4 2 3 4 4 4 4 8
 Greece 2 1 2
 Ireland 1 1 1 1 4
 Israel 1 1
 Italy 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 8
 Jamaica 1 1
 Japan 3 3 3 3 3 5
 Latvia 1 1 2 3 3 3 6
 Lebanon 1 1
 Mexico 1 1
 Netherlands 1 1 2
 New Zealand 1 2 3 2 1 5
 Nigeria 1 1
 Norway 1 1 1 1 4
 Olympic Athletes from Russia 2 1
 Poland 1 1
 Puerto Rico 1 1
 Romania 1 2 2 3
 ROC 6 1
 Russia 2 2 4 6 4
 Slovenia 1 1
 South Africa 1 1
 South Korea 1 1 2 3 3 5
 Spain 1 1 1 1 4
 Switzerland 2 4 3 3 2 1 1 1 8
 Ukraine 1 1 2
 United States 2 4 5 4 5 5 4 3 8
 Virgin Islands 1 1
Nations 6 6 19 21 19 17 24 21
Skeleton racers 10 15 39 42 48 47 50 50

See also

References

  1. ^ King, Kelley (7 February 2000). "You Have to Have a Screw Loose When Skeleton Sled Racing Returns to the Olympics in 2002, No One Will Confuse It With Ice Dancing". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Skeleton Mixed Team Event added to Olympic Program for Milano-Cortina 2026". www.ibsf.org/. International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). 24 June 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  3. ^ "2026 Winter Olympics add eight events, cut Alpine skiing team event". www.olympics.nbcsports.com. NBCSports. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

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