Bob Skeleton is gaining in popularity with sport fans and athletes alike. The appeal lies in the ‘extreme’ nature of the sport - the speed, the Gs, and the closeness of the body to the ice.

The sport involves the athlete racing down a man-made ice track, adopting a face down, headfirst minimal drag riding position on the board - a sleek composite sled. Speeds reached are in excess of 90 mph and the athlete experiences G forces of +5.

Skeleton is one of the four bob track events at the winter Olympics. The sport was successfully re-introduced to the Olympic arena at the Olympic Winter Games 2002, in Salt Lake City after a 54-year absence. The last British Gold medal for a Bobsleigh event in the Winter Olympics was won in 1964 by Anthony Nash and Robin Dixon, for the two-man Bobsleigh.

The athlete adopts a face down, head first, minimal drag riding position on board a sleek sled. The man-made ice tracks range in length between 1 to 1.5 kms and with speeds approaching of 135 km/hr.

From a stand still at the track top, the athlete sprints over 20 to 30 metres, accelerating the sled before diving aboard. The athlete continues to accelerate under gravity, aiming to adopt the most energy efficient line possible while negotiating approximately fifteen curves. The aim simply is the fastest possible descent of the track, racing against the clock to within 1/100th of a second.

The sled has no brakes or mechanical steering components and has minimal protection. Steering is induced by shifting the rider's body weight and aerodynamic profile in unison with the track physics.

Each track has a different combination of bends, some looping through a full horizontal 360 degrees, where the athlete negotiates the equivalent of a two storey high wall. As the athlete descends the track, 'G forces' of plus 5 Gs are experienced whilst accelerating to breath-taking speed. Immediate if not intuitive reactions are required to manipulate the sled into the optimum entry and exit point of a bend; conserve the maximum amount of energy, and descend the track in the fastest possible time.

See the head cam footage of Kristan riding the run at la Plagne below. You may also view a Flash version of this movie in a new window by clicking here or on the image below left.



The sport is governed internationally by the 'Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing' (FIBT) which organises the annual World Cup series, World Championships, Euroepean Chamionships, Americas Cup & Europa Cup events. The sport is part of the Olympic Winter Games and the Winter Goodwill Games. The British Skeleton team slide under the national body, The British Bob Skeleton Association, (BBSKA) and the British team has been present on the world tour for the last ten to twelve years.

The Skeleton in-season competition schedule runs from October to March with events hosted in USA / Canada / Japan / Central Europe / Scandinavia. The elite level competition circuit comprises: 7 x World cup events annually, 1 x World Championship event annually, 1 x European Championships event annually, Goodwill Games (every four years), Olympic Winter Games (every four years), European Club Events and Americas Cup Events.