Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.
Noelle Pikus-Pace is an American retired skeleton racer who began her career in 2001. She won five medals at the FIBT World Championships, competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and won the silver medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and Skeleton. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States at the meeting of their first International Congress in Paris, France. In June 2015, it announced a name change from FIBT to IBSF. The federation's headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Todd Dennys Hays is a former American bobsledder who competed from 1994 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002, breaking a 46-year medal drought for the US national bobsleigh team.
Werner Delle Karth is an Austrian bobsledder who competed during the 1970s. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a silver in 1973 and a bronze in 1974.
Kathryn "Katie" Uhlaender is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2003. She has won six medals at the FIBT World Championships with two gold, one silver, and three bronze.
The FIBT World Championships 2008 ran February 11–24, 2008 in Altenberg, Germany for the fifth time, having done so in 1991 (bobsleigh), 1994 (skeleton), 1999 (skeleton), and 2000. It is the first time Altenberg has hosted all of those events at one championship, and also includes the mixed team event that debuted at the 2007 championships. Training for the events took place February 12–14 for two-man and two-woman bobsleigh, and February 19–20 for skeleton and four-man bobsleigh.
The FIBT World Championships 2011 took place 14 February – 27 February 2011 in Königssee, Germany, for the fifth time, doing so previously in 1979, 1986, and 1990 (skeleton), and 2004. In 2007, the championships were awarded to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy over Winterberg Germany, but Cortina withdrew in February 2009 to a series of issues.
The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, February 20 to March 1, 2009, at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, for the ninth time, doing so previously in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 (skeleton), and 2003. Lake Placid was chosen 25–11 over Igls, Austria.
The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton in the United States, located at the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, New York. This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and for the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000. The track hosted both the first FIBT World Championships and FIL World Luge Championships held outside of Europe, doing so in 1949 and 1983. The third and most recent version of the track was completed in 2000. In 2010 the bobsled track was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Utah Olympic Park Track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in the United States, located in the Utah Olympic Park near Park City, Utah. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in nearby Salt Lake City, the track hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events. Today the track still serves as a training center for Olympic and development level athletes and hosts numerous local and international competitions. It is one of two national tracks; the other is at Mt. Van Hoevenberg near Lake Placid, New York.
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian-American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. With her victory in 2014, she became the first female bobsledder to defend her Olympic title and was named flagbearer for the Olympic closing ceremony with brakewoman Heather Moyse.
The FIBT World Championships 2012 took place from 13 to 26 February 2012 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, for the tenth time. Lake Placid had previously hosted the World Championships in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 (skeleton), 2003, and 2009.
The bobsleigh competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre between 20 and 27 February 2010.
The skeleton competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Sliding Centre. The events were held between the 18 and 19 February 2010. This event was expanded to four runs over two days beginning at these Olympic Games.
Elana Meyers Taylor is an American Olympic bobsledder and World Champion who has competed since 2007. Born in Oceanside, California, Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglasville, Georgia and is a graduate of George Washington University, where she was a member of the softball team.
Justin Bradley Olsen is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2008. He won two medals at the 2009 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York, with a gold in the four-man and a bronze in the mixed team events. Olsen's best event bobsleigh World Cup finish was second on three occasions in 2008–09. Olsen won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the four-man bobsled with driver Steve Holcomb.
The FIBT World Championships 2013 took place at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun in St. Moritz, Switzerland, for the record twenty-second time, after hosting the event previously in 1931 (Four-man), 1935 (Four-man), 1937 (Four-man), 1938 (Two-man), 1939 (Two-man), 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1989 (Skeleton), 1990 (Bobsleigh), 1997 (Bobsleigh), 1998 (Skeleton), 2001, and 2007.
The four-man bobsleigh competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia, on 26–27 February. The German team of André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, and Martin Putze were the defending Olympic champion in this event. America's team of Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz were the defending world champions in this event. The test event was won by the Latvian team of Jānis Miņins, Daumants Dreiškens, Oskars Melbardis, and Intars Dambis. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games place took place in Igls, Austria on 24 January 2010 and was won by the German team of Lange, Hoppe, Kuske, and Putze. Holcomb of the United States won both the four-man and the combined World Cups.
Nick Cunningham is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2008. Nick Cunningham is a Sergeant in the New York Army National Guard in the 1156 Engineering Company, Vertical, and his job is a Construction and Masonry Engineer. Cunningham graduated from Monterey Peninsula College in 2005 and Boise State University in 2008 with a degree in Communications. While at BSU he was an elected team captain for the track team. Cunningham also holds a master's degree in Athletic Coaching Education from Ohio University. When he is not bobsledding, Cunningham enjoys football, track, surfing, and rodeo. His favorite sliding memory is accepting his first gold medal and standing on top of the podium with the National Anthem being played. Cunningham made the official switch from the back of the sled to the driver's seat in 2010 and has been consistent National Team driver for the U.S. program. Coaches expect Cunningham to be vying for a spot on the 2018 Winter Olympic Team.
