The Pyeong Chang Winter Olympics started back on February 9th and are set to ended on February 25th. Everyone knows about the classic winter sports like figure skating, skiing, snowboarding and hockey, but what about the unknown ones? What about the biathlon, curling, skeleton, and luge? I bet you didn’t know the history or rules of these unique sports, but you will now!

Biathlon~

Description: The biathlon event combines the two other olympic sports of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. This is a timed event where the athlete with the shortest time wins. The competitors must skate around a loop and shoot at a target multiple times. If they miss, more distance will be added to their required ski distance.

History: The sport originated a long long time ago in Scandinavia in order to honor the ski and hunting gods. In modern time, Norway used this sport as an alternative military training program. The biathlon was initiated into the Olympics in 1992.

Curling~

Description: The players in curling slide large stones on a sheet of ice toward a target, much like shuffleboard. Brooms are used to decrease friction on the ice so the stones will go further. A team consists of 4 people, each throwing two stones in the competition.  There are 8-10 rounds, called “ends” in each game and scores are tallied by who is closest to the target at each end.

History: There is evidence that curling existed in Scotland in the 16th century. Today, curling is most prominent in Canada because of the early Scottish inhabitants. Curling was introduced into the olympic program in 1924.

Skeleton~

Description: This may be the most dangerous sport of the Winter Olympics. The athletes in this competition slide down a frozen track on their stomach, head first, going around 80 miles per hour. The athlete who flies down the track the fastest wins the competition.

History: The sport originated in Switzerland, but the sleds did not have breaking or steering mechanisms. Now they do of course! The Skeleton was first in the winter olympics of 1924.

Luge~

Description: The luge is a sister sport of the skeleton, they even use the same track! This sport is only different in the way the athletes go down the track. These athletes go down on their back with their feet first. Also similar to the skeleton, the athlete with the fastest time wins.

History: Sleds have been used for ages, so it is unclear when the luge was first invented, but it was first introduced into the olympics in 1964.

Now you know all about a few of the strange winter olympic sports. As these 2018 Pyeong Chang Olympics come to a close, you can use your new found knowledge in 4 years at the next Winter Olympics!