Skeleton (sport): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Skeleton is a winter sport on which competitors go head-first down an ice track on single-seater sleds (or 'sleighs') (unlike luge, where competitors go feet-first). This Olympic sport is also known as tobogganing. It is named for the stripped-down sled, which originally was a bare frame, like a skeleton.

Skeleton is the oldest known sledding sport. It originates from St. Moritz, Switzerland, where in 1884 the Cresta run was built by Major Bulpetts. The following year, the first annual Grand National was organised, which remains the most important race in the sport. For a long time, the sport was even only conducted in St. Moritz, and when the Winter Olympic Games were held there in 1928 and 1948, the event was included as an Olympic sport. At the 2002 Games, the event returned to the program.