Skeleton (sport)

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Skeleton ( English skeleton = ' skeleton ') is a sport in which the athletes ride at speeds of up to 145 km / h on their stomach and head first on a special toboggan through an ice channel. The name of the sled and therefore the sport comes from the fact that the vehicle is reminiscent of a steel skeleton. Although a skeleton sled at first glance more like a luge the luge resembles the sport of skeleton belongs to bobsledding . For both men and women, skeleton is a part of the Olympic sports .

Driver at the start

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Skeleton rider while driving

Skeleton competitions are originally held on the “ Cresta Run ” in St. Moritz and, in a slightly different form, on bobsleigh runs. The drivers start standing up and after a short run jump onto the sled. It is driven lying on the stomach.

The skeleton consists of a rigid tub raised at the side with retaining brackets as well as side impact bars at the front and rear. While the sled construction on the "Cresta Run" is regulated quite openly, precise rules apply on the bobsled runs: The sled length is between 80 cm and 120 cm, and it must have a total height of 8 cm to 20 cm. The sled must not exceed the maximum weight of 43 kg for men and 35 kg for women. The maximum permissible weight of sled and athlete is 115 kg (92 kg for women). If the athlete and sled weigh more than 115 kg (92 kg for women), the sled may weigh a maximum of 33 kg (29 kg for women).

The skeleton riders (also called skeletonis) wear a one-piece cloth suit, a light protective helmet with chin protection and skeleton shoes (brush shoes, bobsleigh shoes) with 7 mm spikes (max. 8 mm).

History of the sport

Skeleton rider at the 1928 Winter Olympics

Skeleton sport originated in the famous health resorts of Davos and St. Moritz in Switzerland , where tobogganing was particularly popular with spa guests. In 1884 a group of British around Major WH Bulpett built an ice rink between St. Moritz and Celerina . A steep slope above the Cresta district of Celerin was chosen for this company. On February 16, 1885, the first of the legendary Cresta races , the "Grand National", was held. In 1887, the first rider dared to descend lying head first. Two Cresta drivers have each won the “Grand National” eight times: Nino Bibbia (Italy) and Franco Gansser (Switzerland). This race is the world's oldest winter sports competition, which is still held today. In the long tradition of the race, only very few local Engadines were able to make the list of winners: Emil Thoma-Badrutt, Johannes Badrutt, Marcel Melcher , Nico Baracchi and Giancarlo Pitsch. From the skeleton on the "Cresta Run", which was reserved for a predominantly elitist group, bobsleigh developed at the end of the 19th century and almost a century later the bobsled skeleton.

The skeleton riders have been organized with the bobsleigh athletes in the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) since 1923 . Your German association is the Bobsleigh and Sled Association for Germany (BSD), which also houses the German luge riders. The association was founded in 1911 under a different name. Your Swiss association is Swiss Sliding.

Olympic history

The medal winners at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (from left to right): Kerstin Szymkowiak , Amy Williams and Anja Huber

Skeleton, like bobsleigh , was declared an Olympic sport by the IOC in 1926 . The first - and for a long time the last - Olympic skeleton competitions were celebrated by the drivers at the 1928 Games in St. Moritz. Twenty years later, skeleton for men was again included in the program of the 1948 Winter Olympics at its birthplace St. Moritz , but again not retained. This time it took even longer for the fast-paced sport to regain Olympic honors. After a break of 54 years, skeleton has been part of the Olympic competitions again since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City . In 2002 there were also Olympic skeleton competitions for women for the first time.

Competitions

Web links

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