If life and limb did not hang in the balance, what would gold be worth? Every four years athletes in the Bobsled, Skeleton and Ice Luge events sacrifice their bodies in order to achieve the ultimate accomplishment; becoming a Gold Medal Olympian. Steel blades and ice come together in these three Olympic events to set the stage for some of the most dramatic and exhilarating performances in sports history. Come February 2010 you will more than likely find yourself glued to the television listening to the life stories of athletes, learning about their heroics and watching them perform in individual events. Here is a brief overview of the Bobsled, Skeleton and Ice Luge events, the sports that these athletes devote their entire lives to, so that you can become an expert before the Olympics come back to North America. Olympic Bobsled Like most Olympic events Bobsled has a deep seeded history. The concept was originally developed by American and British vacationers who were looking for a more exciting way than snowshoes to get around in the Swiss Alps. The first course was laid out in St. Moritz and the first sled was just a toboggan. But shortly after its inception, the toboggan was still not providing the thrill these men sought, so they added runners to the bottom to reduce drag and increase speed. It is this design that brought about the modern day bobsleigh. In today’s Olympic Bobsled there are three separate events; the two and four man events and finally the women’s event which first joined the games in 2002 at Salt Lake City. In these events participants get a running start at the top of the course then jump in their sleigh and hit the mile-long track. During the race, competitors can reach speeds of more than 60 mph. In the two-man event, one driver steers through the turns and one brakeman controls the speed of the sleigh. In the four-man event, two extra bodies are the middle to add weight to the sleigh. These races are judged on the total time of four runs down the mountain and the sled with the fastest total time will take home the Gold. Olympic Luge Like Olympic Bobsled, Luge originated as a sport in the late 1800’s in St. Moritz, Switzerland, but was most likely adapted from much earlier Viking origins. It wasn’t until 1964 that Olympic Luge was initiated into the games which took place in Innsbruck. It took so long for it to be included in the games because it was deemed too dangerous due to high numbers deadly crashes. But thanks to advancements in safety technology, specifically helmets, Luge is much less dangerous today. Luge consists of three events; men’s singles, women’s singles and doubles which can include mix-sex teams. Like in Bobsled, participants begin at the top of an ice course, but instead of a running start they begin on their sled and push off to begin. Again, this event is judged on speed. In the singles competition, the total time of four runs down the track adds up to your final time, whereas the doubles competition has only two runs. The gold medalist is the sled with the fastest time down the mountain. Olympic Skeleton This final ice track event also originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland and is probably the scariest and most dangerous of these three events. It was first contested in the Olympics at the St. Moritz games in 1928 and then again at St. Moritz in 1948, but the games never returned to St. Moritz so the event was never included until 2002 after an international revival of the sport. This event features competitors flying down the mountain on a luge-type sled at more than 80 mph, but this time they are head-first with their only means of steering being movement in their shoulders and chest. The final standings in Olympic Skeleton are determined by the lowest total time of four runs. Need more information about the Winter Olympics? Go no farther than Zakta! Members have compiled the best information available on Olympic events, Olympic teams from around the world and much more.
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Downhill ice events are some of the most intense and dramatic for the athlete and the fans. In this article you will learn about the history and the basics of Olympic Bobsled, Olympic Luge and Olympic Skeleton.
Sundar Kadayam is the Founder and CEO of Zakta and the author of this article on Olympic Bobsled. Find more information about Olympic Skeleton here.
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