Skeleton (sport) in the context of "Winter sports"

Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding. When practised on sand, it is known as a form of sandboarding. In Russia sledges are used for maritime activities including fishing and commuting from island to island on ice.

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. In June 2022, the IOC added a third event, the mixed team, to the sports program at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

A luge (/luːʒ/) is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the pod. Racing sleds weigh 21–25 kg (46–55 lb) for singles and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) for doubles. Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport that employs that sled and technique.

It is not to be confused with skeleton bob, which is also a single person tray-like sled in the bobsleigh family, and the name of the sport that uses that sled, but which is designed for a running start, steering by shoulders and feet, and to be laid on face down and head first. While skeleton and bobsleigh are part of one international federation and sport, luge is organised separately by the International Luge Federation (FIL).

Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (formerly the FIBT).

The first bobsleds were built in the late 19th century in St. Moritz, Switzerland, by wealthy tourists from Victorian Britain who were staying at the Palace Hotel owned by Caspar Badrutt. The early sleds were adapted from boys' delivery sleds and toboggans. These eventually evolved into bobsleighs, luges and skeletons. Initially the tourists would race their hand-built contraptions down the narrow streets of St. Moritz; however, as collisions increased, growing opposition from St. Moritz residents led to bobsledding being eventually banned from public highways. In the winter of 1884, Badrutt had a purpose-built run constructed near the hamlet of Cresta. The Cresta Run remains the oldest in the world and is the home of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club. It has hosted two Olympic Winter Games and as of 2022 was still in use.

The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and Skeleton. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States at the meeting of their first International Congress in Paris, France. In June 2015, it announced a name change from FIBT to IBSF. The federation's headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IBSF works closely with the IOC to conduct Winter Olympics every four years. Along with the Winter Olympics, the IBSF hosts World Championships the other three years. The races are hosted on tracks in North America, Europe, and Asia. The tracks are shared with the sport of Luge, although that is managed under a different governing body, the International Luge Federation.

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The Cresta Run is a natural ice track in eastern-Switzerland used for skeleton-toboggan racing. Located in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, the 1.2125 km (0.753 mi) run is one of the few in the world dedicated entirely to skeleton. It was built in 1884 near the hamlet of Cresta in the municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna by the Outdoor Amusement Committee of the Kulm Hotel and the people of St. Moritz. It has continued as a partnership to this day between the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (SMTC), founded in 1887, and the people of St. Moritz.

Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track (Norwegian: Lillehammer Olympiske Bob- og Akebane) is a bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track located at Hunderfossen in Lillehammer Municipality, Norway, 15 kilometers (9 mi) north of the town center of Lillehammer. It was completed in 1992 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, where it hosted the bobsleigh events and luge events. It has since also hosted the FIBT World Championships 1995 in skeleton and the FIL World Luge Championships 1995, and hosted 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

Original plans called for the track to be located at Fåberg. Later it was proposed moved to Kanthaugen in the town center and then Holmenkollen in Oslo, before Hunderfossen was decided upon. The track is 1,710 meters (5,610 ft), giving a competition length of 1,365 meters (4,478 ft) for bobsleigh and men's singles luge, and 1,185 meters (3,888 ft) for other luge competitions. The bobsleigh course has a vertical drop of 114 meters (374 ft), giving an 8.5 percent average grade. The track has been part of the proposed Oslo 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics bids.