Skeleton at the Winter Olympics
IOC Discipline CodeSKN
Governing bodyIBSF
Events3 (men: 1; women: 1; mixed: 1)
Games
  • 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 rides on the back and feet-first. Often using the same courses, the racing physics are not identical.

Events

Event242832364852566064687276808488929498020610141822Years
Men's skeleton8
Women's skeleton6
Total events11222222

Medal table

Sources (after the 2022 Winter Olympics):[4]
Accurate as of 2022 Winter Olympics.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States3418
2 Great Britain3159
3 Germany2316
4 Canada2114
5 Russia1023
 Switzerland1023
7 Italy1001
 South Korea1001
9 Latvia0202
10 Australia0101
 Austria0101
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)0101
13 China0011
 Netherlands0011
Totals (14 entries)14141442

Participating nations

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

Nation242832364852566064687276808488929498020610141822Years
 American Samoa11
 Argentina11
 Australia233225
 Austria212213238
 Belgium112
 Bermuda11
 Brazil11
 Canada5564636
 China142
 Croatia11
 Czech Republic112
 France111115
 Germany4465666
 Ghana11
 Great Britain142344448
 Greece212
 Ireland11114
 Israel11
 Italy212221138
 Jamaica11
 Japan333335
 Latvia1123336
 Lebanon11
 Mexico11
 Netherlands112
 New Zealand123215
 Nigeria11
 Norway11114
 Olympic Athletes from Russia21
 Poland11
 Puerto Rico11
 Romania1223
 ROC61
 Russia22464
 Slovenia11
 South Africa11
 South Korea112335
 Spain11114
 Switzerland243321118
 Ukraine112
 United States245455438
 Virgin Islands11
Nations66192119172421
Skeleton racers1015394248475050

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". www.vault.si.com. 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.
  4. "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.

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