Winter Olympics 2010 Guide: Skeleton

Skeleton / Editor / 04 February 2010 / Leave a comment

Britain's best medal hope Shelley Rudman

Not for the faint-hearted, Skeleton is one of the most exhilirating events you'll see in Vancouver. Here's everything you need to know to bone-up on skeleton and make the best bets.

"The British have arguably their best chance of a medal in Shelley Rudman, who won silver in Torino. Her main threat comes from Canada’s Melissa Hollingsworth, who was one place behind Rudman four years ago... "

What is it?
You might find this sport easier to understand when you know its alternative name - tobogganing. A stripped down sledge with no steering or braking mechanism hurtling head-first down the bobsleigh and luge runs. Not for the faint-hearted. The start is crucial and competitors train like sprinters. If you have early speed then the skill is body position. You grip the handles to stay on. The men's and women's event consist of four heats over two days. Fastest combined time wins.

History
On a snowy day in 1875, the Monsieur Albert Vinrouge, heir to the richest family in Provence, took his family's finest tea tray to the top of a snowy hill in Grenoble and threw himself off. Gradually the Frenchman added in a run-up for extra speed and skeleton was born.

Naaaaaaaaahhh. Not really. But admit it you were with me for a moment weren't you?
I made that up before doing any research and, in the end, I was in the right ball-park. Actually it was British soldiers constructing a track between Davos and Klosters in 1882 then tobogganing down. A decade later, LP Childs ripped away a superfluous casing from the sled. He called his contraption the 'America'. Everyone else thought it looked like a human skeleton. It was an Olympic sport in 1928 and 1948 but only became regular in 2002.

Who to watch
The British have arguably their best chance of a medal in Shelley Rudman, who won silver in Torino. Her main threat comes from Canada's Melissa Hollingsworth who was one place behind Rudman four years ago but pushed her down into second place in the 2009 world championships.

Fact
An Englishman called McCormick is the first person to go down a run head first. He achieved this notable feat in 1887. Nutter.

Best Bet
If in doubt, always look to the home country. Jon Montgomery and Jeff Pain were first and third in the pre-Olympics test event at Whistler.

Tags: Richard Douglas, Skeleton betting, Vancouver 2010 betting, Winter Olympics 2010 betting