Welcome to the New Year. Each week we go over a new sport on Mondays and this year will be no different. Featured this week is the Olympic sport of Skeleton. Shoot down the course as fast as you can, head first on your stomach and don't crash. Finish as the fastest racer and you win. Easy as that. For the latest sport of the week, subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast listening app.

Raw Notes

Quick overview of what it is

Like Luge, but head first on your belly.

Where/When did it start

Kind of started with Native Americans using the sled as a way to transport cargo

First used to race in the mid 1800s in the Swiss Alps

The Cresta Run in St. Moritz Switzerland has been open for 150 years and is best known for helping propel Skeleton forward

Took a break between 1948 and 2002 Olympics

Deemed to be too dangerous

The sport was dubbed “skeleton” after the first metal sleds introduced in 1892 were said to resemble a human skeleton.

How do you win?

Crucial to start the race holding the sled with the hand closest, then you transfer as you lie down

Timed down to hundredths of seconds

Be the fastest and stay on the track

All about that start - spiked shoes (similar to luge spiked gloves) help you at the start

If you see feet dragging, chances are that racer is not doing well. This is a method of slowing down to avoid flying off the track on the next turn.

2 runs

Stay hard to that inside line. Hitting a curve at the outside makes you go way high

Events

Men’s - 30 men will compete

Total weight of rider and sled may not exceed 253 pounds (115kg)

The sled may not weigh more than 94 pounds (43kg)

Women’s - started in 2002 - 20 women will compete

Total weight of rider and sled cannot exceed 202 pounds (92kg)

The sled may not weigh more than 77 pounds (35kg)

Update from /u/freyaviv via Reddit

They missed a big asterisk in the weight rules. The sled can weigh below the minimum 29 kilos (women) / 33 kilos (men) and if it does, there is no combined (sled + athlete) weight limit. The athlete and the sled have no max weight as long as the sled is below the minimum. If the sled is above the minimum (29 kilos for the women, 33kilos for the men) then the athlete and sled combined must be below 92 kilos (women) / 115 kilos (men). Most of the women have a min weight sled and they can weigh whatever they want. The men is more of a mixed bag. But if you weight 220lbs (like these guys talk about), you could still compete as long as the sled is below 33kilos.

Best Known for the sport

Unlike luge, the US has 8 medals, 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze

Great Britain 2/6

Canada 2/4

Switzerland ⅓

Italy 1/1

Latvia 0/3

Fun Facts

Average speed is 74 miles per hour (120km/H)

Riders face 4Gs of pressure as they go around the turns

Track and Field athletes transition well into skeleton

Most Famous

Akwasi Frimpong - [ah-kwe-si Frim-poe-ng] - First ever skeleton athlete from Ghana. The thighs on this dude are nuts and he loves to dance after his runs.

Martins Dukurs [martins doo-coors] - Latvian has 2 silver medals from 2010 and 2014

His older brother (Tomass) also races skeleton

Coached by their father who worked at a speedsled track

Noelle - Pikus-pace [pike-iss pace]

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.

Other Important Updates from /u/freyaviv via Reddit

No Americans are sponsored by Redbull. There are a few Germans, 1 Belgian and 1 Austrian that are sponsored by Redbull.

Africa is guaranteed one "continental" spot at the games, pending that Akwasi is ranked to 60 in the world

Martins Dukurs is due to be upgraded to a Gold medal after the 2014 Olympic Gold medalist was banned for doping and stripped of his