Technology and the Winter Olympics in Torino - Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of our continuing coverage of the technology behind the games of the 20th Winter Olympiad.

Learning About Skeleton Sled Technology

Last October a few friends and I went hiking and stayed at the High Peaks Hostel in Lake Placid, New York, home of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. We had a great time hanging out with some very friendly, college-age skeleton Olympic hopefuls from Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands who were also staying at the hostel while they trained at the bobsled/luge track outside of town.

They were more than happy to show us their sleds and show us the design and technology behind them. One thing I didn't know until I saw one up close was that the sled runners were tubes and not blades and depending on the competitor's preference there were different numbers of ridges along the tubes to increase their speed and sliding performance. Also, each competitor can attach metal slab weights in the pod of the sled to help with their time down the track, legally from what they tell me. I found it quite fascinating and found that everyone from the Air Force Research Laboratory to guys in garages have a take on sled technology and design.

I'm pulling for the American, Noelle Pikus-Pace who's top secret super alloy in her sled will hopefully win her gold in today's women's skeleton competition. The men's competition is tomorrow, February 17th and I'll have more skeleton technology talk tomorrow.