Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics - Skeleton

The Winter Olympics are here, and that means Skeleton is back on our screens!

You can view the schedule here. Skeleton is on from 12-15 February 2026.

What is Skeleton?

Skeleton, like bobsleigh and luge, is one of the oldest winter sports. The athlete starts standing, just like in bobsleigh, and after the initial push, jumps face down onto the sled, descending the icy track at 130-140 km/hr and guiding the equipment using body movements. Unlike luge, the skeleton racer lies face down.

In skeleton races, the athlete starts in a standing position, as is the case in bobsleigh and luge. At the green light, they have 30 seconds to start their run. After the initial 25 to 40-metre sprint, where they push the sledge by its special handles, the athlete jumps onto the sledge, guiding it through the course solely through slight bodily shifts. Skeleton athletes can reach speeds of up to 130–140km/hr.

Races take place on the same ice track that is used for luge and bobsled. The length of the track ranges from 1200 metres to 1650 metres, with a maximum slope of 12%. The skeleton track at Beijing 2022 featured the first 180° turn in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.

Very brief history of Skeleton

The origins of skeleton dates to the late 19th century in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Here, the Cresta Run was built in 1885. This natural ice track, 1214 metres long, is still considered a legendary run in the sport. In 1887, participants began to slide down the course face first. Skeleton was born.

The discipline was named in retrospect. It dates to 1892 when a new type of sledge was introduced, which was a metal frame resembling the structure of the human skeleton —hence the name.

For decades, skeleton competitions were only held in St. Moritz. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that skeleton was included in the Olympic programme for both editions of the Games hosted by the Swiss resort (1928 and 1948). Due to its dangers and the lack of suitable tracks, the sport remained absent from the Olympic scene for over fifty years, but was reintroduced to the Olympic programme at Salt Lake City 2002 with the men's and women's competitions. At Milan-Cortina 2026, the mixed team event will be added to the programme.

Visit the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics and Paralympics Hub Thread for more!