2010 Olympic Skeleton was held at The Whistler Sliding Centre outside Vancouver, British Columbia on February 18 and February 19. It has been held every four years at the site of the Winter Olympics since 2002. In skeleton, a sled which resembles a human skeleton, made of a combination of metal and fiberglass is used. The competitors run for 50 meters with their hands on side handles then dive onto the sled and steer with their bodies. There are two events in skeleton, one for men and one for women.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/additional-information/about-the-sport_146088Nd.html Competitors to watch include Jeff Pain and Mellisa Hollingsworth of Canada, Anja Huber of Germany, Maya Pedersen and Gregor Staehli of Switzerland, Katie Uhlaender and Eric Bernotas of the United States, Kristan Bromley and Shelley Rudman of Great Britain and Martins Dukurs of Latvia.http://www.nbcolympics.com/skeleton/athletes/index.html

February 18

The women's first heat was held at 4:30 pm. Twenty competitors started, nineteen of them posted times and Nozomi Komuro of Japan was disqualified. Just .04 seconds separated second through fifth place. Amy Williams of Great Britain set a track record with a time of 53.83 seconds. Amy Gough of Canada was second with a time of 54.14. Kerstin Szymkowiak of Germany was third, Anja Huber of Germany was fourth and Melissa Hollingsworth of Canada was fifth.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/womens-heat-1_snw001101hl.html

The women's second heat was held at 5:40 pm. Amy Williams remained in the lead with a second run of 54.13 seconds. She lead by 0.30 seconds over Kerstin Szymkowiak. Melissa Hollingsworth moved to third after a time of 54.17 and Anja Huber was fourth, 0.42 seconds behind Williams. Amy Gough dropped to seventh after a time of 54.78.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/womens-heat-2_snw001102t7-Ij.html

The men's first heat was held at 7:30 pm. Twenty-eight competitors finished with Martins Dukurs of Latvia in the lead with a time of 52.32. He lead Jon Montgomery of Canada by 0.28 seconds and Alexander Tretyakov of Russia by 0.38 seconds. Matthias Guggenberger was fourth and Michael Douglas of Canada was fifth.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/mens-heat-1_snm001101JV.html

The men's second heat was held at 9:00 pm. Martins Dukurs remained in the lead with a second run of 52.59 seconds. His lead over Jon Montgomery was 0.26 seconds as Montgomery had the best run in the second heat at 52.57 seconds. Alexander Tretyakov was in third, 0.84 seconds behind Dukurs.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/mens-heat-2_snm001102BH.html

February 19

The women's third heat was held at 3:45 pm. Nineteen competitors completed and posted an official time, but Nozomi Komuro of Japan was disqualified. Amy Williams set a track record of 53.68 seconds and remained in the lead with an overall time of 2:41.64.0. Melissa Hollingsworth moved into second, 0.52 behind Williams. Kerstin Szymkowiak was in third, just 0.01 behind Hollingsworth. Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States was fourth and Anja Huber of Germany was fifth.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/womens-heat-3_snw001103RJ.html

The women's final heat was held at 4:45 pm. Amy Williams had a time of 54.00 and a total time of 3:35.64 to win the gold. Melissa Hollingsworth, who was second after the third run, had a time of 54.44 and dropped to fifth. Kerstin Szymkowiak had a final heat time of 54.03 to win the silver medal by 0.16 seconds over Anja Huber, who won the bronze. Noelle Pikus-Pace finished fourth and Shelley Rudman of Great Britain finished sixth.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/womens-heat-4_snw001104t7-jr.html

The men's third heat was held at 6:20 pm. Twenty-six competitors completed the heat, Iain Roberts of New Zealand did not start and Michael Douglas of Canada was disqualified. Martins Dukurs remained in the lead with a run of 52.28 and overall time of 2:37.19. Jon Montgomery was just 0.18 seconds behind after a track record 52.20. Alexander Tretyakov was in third with a run of 52.30 and overall time of 2:38.05. Tomass Dukurs of Latvia was fourth and Zach Lund of the United States was in fifth.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/mens-heat-3_snm001103st.html

The men's final heat was held at 7:50 pm. Jon Montgomery of Canada won the gold with a final run of 52.36 seconds and overall time of 3:29.73. He defeated Martins Dukurs, who won the silver medal, by 0.07 seconds. Alexander Tretyakov held off Tomass Dukurs and Zach Lund for the bronze.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/schedule-and-results/mens-heat-4_snm001104t6-Ni.html

• February 18
• 16:00 - Olympic Women's Skeleton Heat 1
• 17:00 - Skeleton - Women's Heat 2
• 18:30 - Olympic Men's Skeleton Heat 1
• 19:45 - Skeleton - Men's Heat 2

• February 19
• 15:45 - Skeleton - Women's Heat 3
• 16:45 - Skeleton - Women's Heat 4 Medal Event
• 18:20 - Skeleton - Men's Heat 3
• 19:30 - Skeleton - Men's Heat 4 Medal Event

Winners

Skeleton first appeared in the Olympics in 1928 at St. Moritz, Switzerland. It was not part of the Olympics until it reappeared at St. Moritz in 1948. Skeleton became a permanent Olympic event in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the skeleton event, heats take place over a two day period. There are four heats total for both men and women. They are timed to a hundredth of second and the competitor with the lowest combined time wins.http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/additional-information/about-the-sport_146088Nd.html First time Olympians in this event include Noelle Pikus-Pace, Rebecca Sorensen and Zach Lund of the United States, Marion Trott and Kerstin Szymkowiak of Germany, Jon Montgomery and Amy Gough of Canada, Amy Williams of Great Britain and Alexander Tretyakov of Russia.http://www.nbcolympics.com/skeleton/athletes/index.html