There’s an interesting article in today’s NYTimes about the insanity that is Skeleton at the Olympics.
Things to fear?
- It’s been banned not once, but twice previously from the olympics for being too extreme.
- In October, a Latvian skeletoner died after crashing into an ‘errant sled’, so now they have a moment of silence before every run
- They incur G-forces so high that they can’t lift their heads, which are just inches from the ice surface
- Most riders reach speeds of 80 mph during the course of a run
- One of the advantages? Most of the sleds are homemade, so ‘anyone can do it’