It’s that time of year—the time to sit back and watch gravity-defying leaps and spins and wonder how anyone’s body can move like that. Starting Feb. 7 and concluding on Feb. 23, the world will witness the best of the best coming together to hash it out at the Sochi Winter Olympics in the name of national pride. For many of us, these sports can be confusing, and, at times, the mere mention of their names leaves us wondering how these sports even got their beginnings.
The most widely known events at the Winter Olympics, snowboarding, ice skating and skiing, draw many viewers to watch icons like Shaun White, Lindsay Vonn, Syndey Crosby and Michelle Kwan. There are, however, events that stay under the radar but are still every bit as interesting.
One example is the sport known as Skeleton, which was named for the look of the metal sled used in the sport. Participants take a running leap and essentially belly flop onto a bare bones sled and race down an ice track on their stomachs. This sport made its way back up to the Olympic level in 2002 and is featured in both the men’s and women’s categories. Competitors can reach speeds of 80 miles per hour. Skeleton shares an ice track with similar sports like luge and bobsledding and is actually the slowest of the sledding events. Past gold medalists include John Montgomery of Canada, Amy Williams of Great Britain and Duff Gibson, also of Canada.
Another lesser-known event is Luge. This event can either be singles or doubles and has been an Olympic sport since 1964. Unlike Skeleton, luge competitors lay on their backs and turn by throwing their body weight one way or another. In a doubles run, the competitors lay on their backs with one on top of the other on a sled and turn in tandem to navigate the track. They won’t have to maneuver for long; the entire course takes less than a minute because of the unfathomable high speeds at which they slide. Some competitors have clocked in at speeds exceeding 87 miles per hour. Past competitors crazy enough to not only compete, but excel at this sport include Armin Zöggeler, Felix Loch, Sylke Otto and brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger. Out of the three sliding events at the Winter Olympics- bobsledding, luge and skeleton- luge is considered the most dangerous. The world-record speed, held by Manuel Pfister of Austria, is almost 96 miles per hour on a half-mile track.
Bobsledding is the last sliding event that rounds out the triumvirate at the Olympic Games. This event joined the Olympics in 1924, and a women’s category was added in 2002. There are two- and four-person runs, and the four heats are averaged to determine the winner. The bobsleigh has a complete body and is run down the track by a team before the riders jump in. Past winners include teams from Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Bobsledding competitors get up to 93 miles an hour, but the sport is considered safer because of the protective sleigh. This event is popular among the younger generation since the event is basically an extension of sledding.
Curling is yet another sport that either causes confusion or is oftentimes overlooked. The name itself conjures up images of dancing and hairdos, but this sport earned its name because of the way the player spins his wrist to get a granite ball moving across ice. Played in teams of four, this sport looks like a game of ice hockey with brooms instead of sticks. In fact, curling is sometimes referred to as “shuffleboard on ice.” Curling’s history has been contested, starting in 1924 with its shaky introduction. The final results of the event were not counted and the sport was not brought back up to the Olympic level until 1998 after being showcased as a demonstration sport in only three other Olympics.
Don’t turn off the TV when you see that these quirky sports are on next. Sometimes it’s the things that are overlooked that are the most interesting.
