Skeleton (sport)
[1] The skeleton originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as a spinoff of the tobogganing sport pioneered by the British on the Cresta Run.The sport of skeleton can be traced to 1882, when English soldiers constructed a toboggan track between the towns of Davos and Klosters in Switzerland.In 1884, Major William Bulpett, with the backing of winter sports pioneer and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt, constructed the Cresta Run, the first tobogganing track of its kind in St. Moritz.[8] Popularity in the sport has grown since the 2002 Winter Olympics and now includes participation by some countries that either do not or cannot have a track because of climate, terrain or monetary limitations.Athletes from such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, South Africa, Argentina, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, and even the Virgin Islands have become involved with the sport in recent years.This championship is a "paper" race, based only on the times in the regularly scheduled World Cup event, with the athletes representing a different continent excluded.Unlike all other IBSF-sponsored races, the World Championships use a two-day, four-heat format, with rankings determined by total time for all four heats.All countries are entitled to send up to three athletes to the Junior World Championships, subject to the requirement that each entrant must have finished at least three IBSF sanctioned competitions on at least two tracks in the previous two years.[11] The 2017–18 Junior World Championships were held on 25 January 2018 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the winners were Anna Fernstädt of Germany and Nikita Tregubov of Russia.[16] The skeleton event in the Winter Olympics uses the same two-day, four-heat format as the World Championships, but team quotas are significantly smaller.Most notably, Nino Bibbia, a fruit and vegetable merchant from St. Moritz, Switzerland, took Olympic gold at the 1948 event.[6] With the advent of the first artificially refrigerated track in 1969 at Königssee/Berchtesgaden, Germany, athletes are currently able to practice the sport regardless of weather conditions.In 1902, Arden Bott added a sliding seat to help athletes shift their weight forward and backward, a feature that is no longer included on modern sleds.Current Olympic champion: South Korea (KOR) Yun Sung-bin Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) Nikita Tregubov Great Britain (GBR) Dominic Parsons Current Olympic champion: Great Britain (GBR) Lizzy Yarnold Germany (GER) Jacqueline Lölling Great Britain (GBR) Laura Deas Both skeleton and its sister sport, bobsledding, have been associated with traumatic brain injury, a phenomenon known as "sled head".
Amy Williamsgoverning bodyInternational Bobsleigh and Skeleton FederationSwitzerlandSkeleton tracksOlympicwinter sliding sportface down and head-firstbobsleighSt. Moritz2002 Winter OlympicsCresta RunbobsledstobogganKlostersUnited StatesanglicizedNorwegianCaspar BadruttCelerinaWinter Olympic GamesStyriaMürzzuschlagAustriaAustrianSemmering PassFederation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de TobogganingInternational Olympic CommitteeSalt Lake CityAustraliaNew ZealandBermudaSouth AfricaArgentinaIsraelMexicoBrazilVirgin IslandsLizzy YarnoldWorld CupOlympic Winter GamesSkeleton World CupInnsbruckMartins DukursElena NikitinaSkeleton World ChampionshipsKönigssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton trackBavariaJacqueline LöllingSt. MoritzAnna FernstädtNikita TregubovSkeleton at the Winter Olympics2018 Winter OlympicsSimidele AdeagboamateursNino BibbiaKönigsseeBerchtesgadenGermanyList of bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracksAlpine countriesspeedsuittrack spikesgogglesCalgaryAlberta1988 Winter OlympicsMunichKonigseeCzechoslovakiaBrazilian Ice Sports FederationRio de JaneiroLausanneList of Olympic medalists in skeletonSouth KoreaYun Sung-binOlympic Athletes from RussiaGreat BritainDominic ParsonsCanadaRussiaLatviaLaura DeasFIBT World ChampionshipsList of Skeleton World Cup championsEncyclopædia BritannicaWinter OlympicsmedalistsvenuesWorld championshipsEuropean championshipsWorld natural track championshipsEuropean natural track championshipsAsian championshipsInternational Luge FederationList of natural luge tracksWinter Olympic sportsBiathlonCurlingIce hockeySkatingfigure skatingshort-tracklong-trackSkiingalpinecross-countryfreestyleNordic combinedski jumpingsnowboardingSki mountaineeringParalympic sportsSummer Olympic sportsExtreme and adventure sportsBoardsportsBellyboardingBodyboardingDirtsurfingKite landboardingKiteboardingLongboardingMountainboardingRiverboardingSandboarding