A look at skeleton
11/25/2001
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The object of this sled sport is to make it down an ice track as fast as possible. Men and women compete in skeleton – a headfirst, stomach-down form of sliding. The athlete takes a running start and loads onto a single sled. Skeleton sleds can reach up to 85 mph.
USA outlook
The men and women expect to win medals. The teams collected 11 medals last season. The men's team finished on top of the World Cup rankings. Lincoln DeWitt won the World Cup season title and captured a bronze medal at the World Championships. Three-time national champion Jim Shea Jr. and Chris Soule, off to a strong start this season, figure to join DeWitt in the sport's Olympic return.
The women ranked second in the world last season, paced by World Championship bronze medalist Tricia Stumpf, recovering from a hamstring tear. Lea Ann Parsley, though relatively new to the sport, finished sixth in the world last season. Colleen Rush finished second to Stumpf at the national championships in January.
International outlook
Japan could be the skeleton sleeper. Austria, Canada and Switzerland will send strong men's teams. Women's world powers are Great Britain, Germany and Switzerland.
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Utah Olympic Park, on the same track as the bobsled events.
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Skeleton made its Olympic debut in 1928 and last appeared in the Olympics in 1948. Jennison Heaton of the United States won the first Olympic skeleton gold medal, with his brother John taking the silver. Robie Vaughn, a Dallas oil company owner, worked hard to increase public awareness of the sport. His wife, Fallon, and Dallasite Kevin Ellis, who works as an accountant for Vaughn's company, are members of the U.S. national skeleton team.
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Feb. 20 – men's and women's finals
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THE BASICS: Skeleton is a sliding sport in which the racer competes stomach-down and head-first on a two-runner sled known as a "skeleton." The sport, for men and women, resembles luge, except for the body positioning on the sled.
THE ATHLETIC SKILLS: Foot speed, agility, upper-body and leg strength, and coordination are important.
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SLEDS
The steel sleds range from 31.5 to 47.3 inches long. Sleds generally are 21 inches wide at the front bumpers. The sled's maximum height is 8 inches.
The stainless steel runners, 0.6 inches in diameter, have grooves that may not exceed .08 inches in depth. Heating the runners is prohibited. Devices to assist steering or braking also are against the rules.
Men's sleds run from 72 to 94 pounds, and women's sleds range from 63 to 77 pounds. Sled weight is dependent on pilot weight – a light driver gets a heavy sled and a heavy driver gets a light sled.
HELMETS: The helmets are made of plastic and have visors and chin guards.
TRACK SHOES: Each shoe may have up to eight spikes, each less than 0.27 inches long and 0.08 inches in diameter.
RACING SUITS: Athletes wear tight-fitting bodysuits, sometimes with padded elbows. Leather gloves protect the hands.
THE COMPETITION
Athletes sprint from the block and jump onto the sleds, stomachs down, with hands at their sides. The start can determine the outcome.
To steer, they shift the weight of their shoulders and knees, occasionally dragging a toe.
Sliders must cross the finish in contact with the sled.
The athlete with the lowest aggregate time from two heats wins.
THE TRACK: Skeleton is contested on the same tracks used for bobsled. In the United States, world-class runs are located at the Utah Olympic Park venue and in Lake Placid, N.Y. Most skeleton races take place on tracks with a concrete base and an artificial ice surface. The standard length is 1,500 meters, but courses vary in difficulty depending on banked curves and vertical drops.
SKELETON TIDBIT: Skeleton athlete Chris Soule also is a stuntman and actor. He has appeared in productions including GI Jane, Sex and the City and Stepmom.
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