Wacky Winter Sports!

The Olympics usually only come around once every two years, but thanks to COVID, we get summer and winter back to back! We all love the classics, like figure skating and curling, but there are some wacky ones too! I hadn’t even heard of some of these before doing research, so hopefully you think of this article as you watch the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Here are the top five wackiest winter sports!

1: Biathlon 

Biathlon combines two sports – cross-country skiing and shooting – into one race.

Athletes race around a closed course carrying a rifle strapped to their backs, and stop at designated spots to shoot at a series of targets. The shooting is done in either a standing or prone position.

For every target missed, the athlete is penalized. Depending on the format, the penalty can be one lap around a 150-meter loop, or a one-minute penalty added on to their time. The penalty loop is separate from the regular course.

2: Short Track Speed Skating 

“Short Track speed skating, sport that tests the speed, technical skating ability, and aggressiveness of its competitors. Unlike traditional long-track speed skating, contestants race against each other instead of the clock.”

https://www.britannica.com/sports/short-track-speed-skating

3: Bob Sleigh

Bobsledding also called, bobsleighing, the sport of sliding down an ice-covered natural ramp on a sled that is called a bobsled, bobsleigh, or bob, that carries either two or four people

4: Luge

“A luge is a sporting event where one to two competitors sled on their backs and race to the finish line with the fastest time possible. … In the 16th century, Luge was a traditional sport for the people in Switzerland. The sport became an influence to the world that added to the Winter Olympics games in 1964.” https://gmtm.com/articles/winter-olympics-what-is-luge

5: Skeleton

“Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a

frozen track while lying face down and head-first. Unlike oher sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge, the race always involves single riders. Like bobsleigh, but unlike luge, the race begins w

ith a running start from the opening gate at the top of the course. The skeleton sled is thinner and heavier than the luge sled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_(sport)