About


The name skeleton came from the metal sled that some said looked like a skeleton. The skeleton sled is low and heavy with a steel chassis. It features a fibreglass pod which sits on top of the chassis, steel runners, and no brakes. The rider lies face down on the sled, head first. All steering is done by the rider’s shoulders and legs.

The skeleton racer’s uniform consists of a helmet with a chin guard, a skin-tight racing jumpsuit, and racing shoes with spikes for running on the ice; some of the skeleton racer’s wear elbow and shoulder padding under their jumpsuits. The skeleton race starts when the racer takes a running start and leaps onto the skeleton sled.

Skeleton racing is performed on the same refrigerated ice track as the bobsled. The track is 1500 meters long and the racer with the lowest combined times in four heats over 2 days is the winner.

Skeleton racing showed up at the second time in the Olympic winter games in 1948, after that it did not get added to the Olympics again until 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. There are both men’s and women’s categories in this sport.

 

Who is Katharine

I live and work as a Physiotherapist in Wanaka. Sport is my passion.
I have recently taken up the sport of Skeleton and am currently a member of the NZ team. I have shown previous commitment to sport by competing internationally at track and field events as a junior. Also living in Wanaka I got interested in the multisport and adventure racing scene – competing in Speight’s Coast to Coast and the Southern Traverse.