The popular sports of bobsled (or bobsleigh) and skeleton racing use the same track and provide the same level of excitement for the spectators.
Bobsled and skeleton racing are both policed by the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) which was founded in 1923. Both sports had their beginnings in the 1870s in St. Moritz, Switzerland and grew out of tobogganing or cresta sledding.
Skeleton Racing
The first race of skeleton took place in 1884 on the road between St. Moritz and Celerina in Switzerland and skeleton racing first appeared at the Olympic winter games in 1928 at Lake Placid, NY.
The name skeleton came from the metal sled that some said looked like a skeleton. The skeleton sled is low and heavy with a steel chassis. It features a fibreglass pod which sits on top of the chassis, steel runners, and no brakes. The rider lies face down on the sled, head first. All steering is done by the rider’s shoulders and legs.
The skeleton racer’s uniform consists of a helmet with a chin guard, a skin-tight racing jumpsuit, and racing shoes with spikes for running on the ice; some of the skeleton racer’s wear elbow and shoulder padding under their jumpsuits. The skeleton race starts when the racer takes a running start and leaps onto the skeleton sled.
Skeleton racing is performed on the same refrigerated ice track as the bobsled. The track is 1500 meters long and the racer with the lowest combined times in four heats over 2 days is the winner.
Skeleton racing showed up at the second time in the Olympic winter games in 1948, after that it did not get added to the Olympics again until 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. There are both men’s and women’s categories in this sport.
Bobsled
The first bobsled track build was in 1870 in St Moritz, Switzerland. Two cresta (or skeleton) sleds were stuck together and a steering mechanism was added to the front. When the sport first debuted, a bobsled could have as many as 6 riders but it was cut down to 4 by the time it debuted at the 1924 Olympic games in Chamonix, France.
The bobsled features a steel frame with a fibreglass hull set on top. It features a moveable set of front runners, fixed rear runners, collapsible push bars used by the driver and the crewmen, a fixed push bar at the rear for the brakeman, a jagged metal brake, and a steering system which consists of two rings that are pulled left or right depending on the direction the driver wants to go. The bobsled outfit is identical to that of the skeleton racer’s. A bobsled race begins with a running start of up to 50 metres. First the driver leaps in, then the crewmen (if it is a 4-man race) and then the brakeman leaps in and collapses the push bar.
Bobsled racing at the Olympic winter games features a two-man race, a four-man race, and a two-woman race. While men’s bobsled racing has been in the Olympics since 1924, women have only begun taking part since 2002. At the Olympic winter games, just like skeleton racing, there are four heats over two days and the team with the lowest combined speed is the winner.
Excitement
There are many other exciting sports to watch in the Olympic winter games, such as speed skating and luge but none offer the same thrills as skeleton racing and bobsled. Both are exciting sports to watch since it is basically man (or woman) versus nature; there are no mechanical aids other than steering rings, metal brakes or steel runners. It is all up to the skill of those riding the bobsled and the skeleton sled.
Susan Keeping - Susan has been writing online for over 10 years and is currently developing a website for women.
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