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55-860: Christopher Grotheer (born 30 July 1992) is a German skeleton racer who has competed since 2007. His debut at the European Cup was in November 2010. Grotheer's best Skeleton World Cup finish was 3rd in season 2012–13. He won the Gold medal in Men's Skeleton Singles contest at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Germany's first ever in the event. All results are sourced from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) . This biographical article relating to German winter sports

110-478: A Fachhochschule ). Celerina/Schlarigna has an unemployment rate of 1.47%. As of 2005 , there were 20 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 153 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 22 businesses in this sector. 564 people are employed in the tertiary sector , with 85 businesses in this sector. From the 2000 census , 641 or 47.4% are Roman Catholic , while 532 or 39.3% belonged to

165-864: A Junior World Championships (open to athletes aged 23 and under) which are held annually without regard to the Olympics. One race each World Cup season is also designated the European Championship. The IBSF cooperates with the International Olympic Committee to supervise the skeleton races at the Olympic Winter Games, and the IBSF ranking system is used to determine the National Olympic Committees' athlete quota allocations. On all of

220-600: A central square) of Celerina/Schlarigna and the hamlet of Crasta, in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district, after 2017 it was part of the Maloja Region. The municipality's official name used to be Celerina , until 1943, when it adopted the name Schlarigna/Celerina . In 1950, it was renamed again to Celerina/Schlarigna . It is located in the upper Engadin valley in the Oberengadin sub-district of

275-459: A fire destroyed 43 houses. From the 1860s onwards, tourism became more and more important to the village. The Cresta Run opened in 1884, the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun in 1904 and the cable car to Saluver in 1958. In the course of the 20th century, the population structure of the originally Romansh -speaking farming village underwent radical change, with people moving to the thriving resort from

330-478: A gateway sport to "train young, aspiring athletes…for their future career in bobsleigh." "The 'toboggans' used in Alpine countries at the end of the 19th century were inspired by Canadian/Indian sleds used for transport". Various additions and redesigning efforts by athletes have led to the skeleton sleds used today. In 1892, L. P. Child introduced the "America", a new metal sled that revolutionized skeleton as

385-471: A maximum of four. To be eligible to enter a World Cup race, athletes must have safely completed five races on two tracks in the previous two seasons. At the end of the World Cup season, the man and woman with the highest ranking, considering only points earned in World Cup races, are given a trophy known as the "Crystal Globe". One World Cup race a year may be designated as a continental championship for

440-665: A national federation volunteers to organize the (Senior) World Championships (for both bobsleigh and skeleton), which are open to all athletes meeting the experience requirements that apply to the World Cup and the ICC (including junior athletes). The quota system for the Senior World Championships is the same as for the World Cup, except that all national federations are entitled to send one athlete. The defending Junior World Champion in each discipline also receives an automatic entry. Unlike all other IBSF-sponsored races,

495-653: A painted wood roof and notable frescoes . In 1682 the large bell tower was struck by lightning and the burned-out roof was never replaced. As Celerina/Schlarigna is located at the edge of the plain where the Flaz river (coming from the Bernina Pass) meets the Inn, this is the widest part of the Engadin valley, making Celerina the sunniest spot in the upper Engadin valley. Unlike St. Moritz , its more famous neighbouring town to

550-518: A phenomenon known as "sled head". Multiple suicides of former athletes have been linked to these sports. Celerina Celerina/Schlarigna ( German / Italian Celerina ; Romansh Schlarigna ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . Celerina/Schlarigna was first mentioned in 1313 as Schellarin and in 1320 as Celarina . In 1631,

605-584: A sport. The stripped-down design provided a compact sled with metal runners, and the design caught on quickly. In 1902, Arden Bott added a sliding seat to help athletes shift their weight forward and backward, a feature that is no longer included on modern sleds. In 2010, the FIBT restricted the materials with which skeleton sleds are permitted to be made. Sled frames must be made of steel and may not include steering or braking mechanisms. The base plate, however, may be made of plastics. The handles and bumpers found along

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660-460: A steering or braking mechanism, though Cresta riders use rakes on their boots in addition to shifting body weight to help steer and brake . The sport of skeleton can be traced to 1882, when English soldiers constructed a toboggan track between the towns of Davos and Klosters in Switzerland . While toboggan tracks were not uncommon at the time, the added challenge of curves and bends in

715-452: A support program for "emerging nations", which provides travel, coaching, and equipment funding assistance to countries which have neither a track nor three qualified pilots in three IBSF disciplines; in 2017, 20 national federations qualified for financial support in men's skeleton, and 11 qualified in women's skeleton. The IBSF organizes three competitive circuits for international skeleton competition, in two tiers: two Continental Cups, and

770-496: A team must have placed at least one athlete in the top 70 (for men) of the overall ranking table (top 55 for women); quotas were loosened for the 2023–24 season to account for the discontinuation of the Intercontinental Cup. Each team receives a number of starting positions equal to the number of athletes from that team who were in the top 70 (for men) or top 55 (for women) in the previous season's overall rankings, to

825-427: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biographical article relating to skeleton racing is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Skeleton (sport) Unlike other sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge , the race always involves single riders. Like bobsleigh, but unlike luge, the race begins with a running start from the opening gate at the top of the course. The skeleton sled

880-495: Is more important. Summer guests enjoy hiking and mountaineering ; mountain biking has also become popular. Nearby there are also opportunities for golf , glider flying, swimming and hang-gliding. Winter sports include both Nordic and alpine skiing , bobsleigh , and skeleton (the famous Cresta Run ends in Celerina). There is a direct skiers gondola from Celerina into the heart of the St.Moritz ski area of Corviglia/Marguns,

935-476: Is thinner and heavier than the luge sled, and skeleton gives the rider more precise control of the sled. Skeleton is the slowest of the three sliding sports, as skeleton's face-down, head-first riding position is less aerodynamic than luge's face-up, feet-first ride. Previously, skeleton appeared in the Olympic program in St. Moritz , Switzerland , in 1928 and again in 1948 . It was added permanently to

990-579: The Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 17 individuals (or about 1.26% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 10 individuals (or about 0.74% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 11 individuals (or about 0.81% of the population) who are Jewish . There are 5 individuals (or about 0.37% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on

1045-650: The Winter Olympic Games were held at St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948 , the Cresta Run was included in the program, marking the only two times skeleton was included as an Olympic event before its permanent addition in 2002 to the Winter Games. In the 1887 Grand National competition in St. Moritz, a Mr. Cornish introduced the now-traditional head-first position, a trend that was in full force by

1100-664: The 1890 Grand National. Skeleton was practiced mainly in Switzerland; however, in 1905, Styria held its first skeleton competition in Mürzzuschlag , Austria . This opened the door to other national skeleton competitions including the Austrian championship held the following year. In 1908 and 1910, skeleton competitions were held in the Semmering Pass . As the popularity of the sport grew, skeleton evolved into

1155-587: The 2017/18 season. The Junior World Championships are held every year, but are scheduled to avoid conflict with the Olympics and the Senior World Championships. Junior athletes are those who are under 23 years of age, or who turn 23 at some point during the competitive season. All countries are entitled to send up to three athletes to the Junior World Championships, subject to the requirement that each entrant must have finished at least three IBSF sanctioned competitions on at least two tracks in

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1210-548: The German-speaking part of Switzerland and also from Italy. Celerina/Schlarigna has an area, as of 2006 , of 24 km (9.3 sq mi). Of this area, 34% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (31.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around

1265-489: The IBSF and using the IBSF ranking system to determine qualification; 20 women and 30 men competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea, with one automatic quota going to the host country (Korea) for each gender. For men, three countries received three quota spots each, six were allocated two spots, and five got one; for women, two countries received three spots, four got two, and two got one. The ranking of

1320-535: The Maloja district and is across from the entrance of the Bernina Pass into the Engadin. The village is located between St. Moritz , Samedan and Pontresina . The famous Cresta Run for tobogganing leads from St.Moritz to the Cresta neighbourhood of Celerina. Celerina/Schlarigna has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 1,484. As of 2008 , 31.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over

1375-561: The Olympic program for the 2002 Winter Olympics , at which stage a women's race was added. During elite racing the rider experiences accelerations up to 5   g and reaches speeds over 130 km/h (81 mph). The skeleton originated in St. Moritz , Switzerland , as a spinoff of the tobogganing sport pioneered by the British on the Cresta Run . Although skeleton "sliders" use equipment similar to that of Cresta "riders",

1430-619: The St. Moritz run as the officially recognized Olympic rules. It was not until 2002, however, that skeleton returned to the Olympic Winter Games after a 54-year absence, with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah . In 2015, the FIBT was renamed the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF), and the Congress of the IBSF adopted its current governing statutes in 2016. Popularity in

1485-610: The Swiss track distinguished it from those of Canada and the United States . The source of the word is debated; some speculate that it comes from the skeleton-like appearance of the original sleds, and others an incorrectly anglicized version of the Norwegian word for toboggan, "Kjelke". Approximately 30 km (20 mi) away in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, British men had long enjoyed racing one another down

1540-579: The World Championships and Winter Olympics) heat, the competitors start in reverse order of their ranking after the previous heat. (At four-heat races, start order in heats two and three is in ascending order of combined time from the prior heats.) In addition to the four race series, the IBSF also organizes World Championships, which are held at the end of every sliding season except when the Olympic Winter Games are held, and

1595-492: The World Championships use a two-day, four-heat format, with rankings determined by total time for all four heats. The 2016/17 World Championships were held at Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Bavaria , 24–26 February 2017. Martins Dukurs of Latvia won the men's competition and Jacqueline Lölling of Germany won the women's competition. Because 2018 was an Olympic year, no World Championships were held for

1650-616: The World Cup. In addition, teams are limited to four athletes on their home continent and two athletes on the other continent. (For the purposes of this restriction, African teams are considered to be home on the Europe Cup and Asian, Oceanian, and South American teams are home on the North American Cup.) As the bottom level of international skeleton competition, race results in the Continental Cups are assigned

1705-458: The busy, winding streets of the town, causing an uproar among citizens because of the danger to pedestrians and visiting tourists. In 1884, Major William Bulpett, with the backing of winter sports pioneer and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt , constructed the Cresta Run , the first tobogganing track of its kind in St. Moritz. The track ran three-quarters of a mile from St. Moritz to Celerina and contained ten turns still used today. When

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1760-423: The catalyst for its upswing in popularity. Most notably, Nino Bibbia , a fruit and vegetable merchant from St. Moritz , Switzerland, took Olympic gold at the 1948 event. With the advent of the first artificially refrigerated track in 1969 at Königssee / Berchtesgaden , Germany , athletes are currently able to practice the sport regardless of weather conditions. The sport is also promoted by skeleton officials as

1815-399: The census), 84 (or about 6.21% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 53 individuals (or about 3.92% of the population) did not answer the question. The historical population is given in the following table: Most of the population (as of 2000 ) speaks German (58.3%), with Italian being second most common (19.3%) and Romansh being third (12.8%). Until

1870-536: The continent on which it is held. This championship is a "paper" race, based only on the times in the regularly scheduled World Cup event, with the athletes representing a different continent excluded. Currently, this is done only in Europe; the 2017/18 European Championship races were the World Cup races held on 15 December 2017 at Innsbruck , Austria . The current European champions are Martins Dukurs of Latvia and Elena Nikitina of Russia. In non-Olympic years,

1925-399: The countries for quota assignment was based on their third-highest, second-highest, or highest ranked athlete in total IBSF ranking over the qualification period. In addition, three quota spots are reserved for countries whose continent did not receive any representation based on this assignment procedure. National Olympic Committees may send athletes other than the ones whose rankings earned

1980-483: The last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 13.7%. As of 2000 , the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. The age distribution, as of 2000 , in Celerina/Schlarigna is; 152 children or 11.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 78 teenagers or 5.8% are 10 to 14, and 68 teenagers or 5.0% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 215 people or 15.9% of

2035-418: The list before an athlete's ordinal ranking is determined This had the effect of allowing continental representatives for Africa into the 2018 games, as they would otherwise have been too low on the ranking list to qualify (notably, Nigerian slider Simidele Adeagbo was ranked 74th before cleaning, but was in the top 45 after application of rule 4.1). The accessibility of skeleton to amateurs may have been

2090-515: The lowest point values for ranking, with a first-place finish being with 75 points (compared to 225 points for the World Cup). Only the top 30 athletes receive ranking points; 30th place is worth 1 point. However, two races are generally held in each discipline on a single race weekend, allowing consistently competitive athletes to earn a higher ranking than if they went to a single World Cup race and finished poorly. The Intercontinental Cup (ICC)

2145-478: The majority language. However, in 1990 there were still 41% who understood Romansh in Celerina/Schlarigna and in 2000 it was 35%. The Swiss Reformed Church of San Gian is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance . The church is located on a hill above the Inn River . It was built in 1478 on the site of a chapel that was about 500 years older. The church is a single apse construction with

2200-497: The mid 19th Century, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Puter . Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1860 about 96% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1880 it had decreased to 76.9% and in 1900 it was 68%. The last time that Romansh was the majority language in Celerina/Schlarigna was in 1941. Following World War II German became

2255-612: The most popular party was the SVP which received 30.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (29.3%), the FDP (26.9%) and the CVP (10.2%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Celerina/Schlarigna about 69.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or

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2310-416: The overall rankings of their individual athletes during the previous season, but are free to send any qualified athlete to a competition in which they have available quota. However, individual athletes' discipline rankings are used to determine the start order for the first heat of each race: the track becomes less smooth after each successive run, so earlier starts are more desirable. In the second (fourth at

2365-422: The population are between 20 and 29 years old. 279 people or 20.6% are 30 to 39, 222 people or 16.4% are 40 to 49, and 169 people or 12.5% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 85 people or 6.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 56 people or 4.1% are 70 to 79, there are 27 people or 2.0% who are 80 to 89, and there are 2 people or 0.1% who are 90 to 99. In the 2007 federal election

2420-540: The previous two years. The 2017–18 Junior World Championships were held on 25 January 2018 in St. Moritz , Switzerland , and the winners were Anna Fernstädt of Germany and Nikita Tregubov of Russia. The skeleton event in the Winter Olympics uses the same two-day, four-heat format as the World Championships, but team quotas are significantly smaller. The International Olympic Committee assigns athlete quotas to national Olympic committees in cooperation with

2475-403: The quota spot, but the athletes chosen must be ranked in the top 60 (for men) or top 45 (for women) on the IBSF list and meet similar experience requirements to those that apply to the World Cup. However, IBSF rule 4.1 provides that, for the purposes of determining the top 60 (or top 45) qualification, lower-ranking athletes from countries which have already received a full quota are "cleaned" from

2530-413: The regular competitive circuits, the race days are preceded by three or four days of pre-race training to allow athletes to learn the intricacies of each track, and each athlete must complete a certain number of successful training runs to be eligible to compete. Normally, if the same competition also includes bobsleigh races, the skeleton races will be held first, as the heavier bobsleighs do more damage to

2585-1009: The sides of the sled help secure the athlete during a run. Further specifications are included in the FIBT ruling regarding sled dimensions: Some athletes opt to attach ballasts if the combined weight of athlete and sled falls below the maximum combined weight. These ballasts may only be added to the sled, not the rider. Current Olympic champion: [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   South Korea   (KOR) Yun Sung-bin [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Olympic Athletes from Russia   (OAR) Nikita Tregubov [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Dominic Parsons Current Olympic champion: [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Lizzy Yarnold [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Germany   (GER) Jacqueline Lölling [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Laura Deas Both skeleton and its sister sport, bobsledding, have been associated with traumatic brain injury,

2640-405: The south-west, Celerina has retained many historic buildings in its town centre, many dating back to the 17th century. The town has three historic churches: the small Romanesque church in Cresta, the gothic church of San Gian (current structure dating to 1478, but based on a chapel at least 400 years older than that) in the middle of the plain, and the baroque-style, 1669 Bel Taimpel in the heart of

2695-497: The sport has grown since the 2002 Winter Olympics and now includes participation by some countries that either do not or cannot have a track because of climate, terrain or monetary limitations. Athletes from such countries as Australia , New Zealand , Bermuda , South Africa , Argentina , Iraq , Israel , Mexico , Brazil , and even the Virgin Islands have become involved with the sport in recent years. The IBSF operates

2750-574: The sport recognized today. In 1892, the sled was transformed by L. P. Child, an Englishman, to incorporate a more bare-bones design. In 1923, the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was established as the governing body of the sport. Soon afterward, in 1926, the International Olympic Committee declared bobsleigh and skeleton as Olympic sports and adopted the rules of

2805-422: The top level World Cup . Each athlete receives points based on their results and the level of the competition, which are used to determine both their rankings on each circuit they race in and also an overall ranking across all circuits. An intermediate tier, the Intercontinental Cup, was discontinued after the 2022–23 season. National federations are assigned athlete quota spots in the higher levels according to

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2860-425: The track. The two Continental Cup series are the Europe Cup (also called "Europa Cup" and "European Cup") and the North American Cup. Both series are open to athletes from all participating nations, but with some restrictions: the top 15 athletes in combined ranking are not permitted to race in the Continental Cups, and athletes are not permitted to race unless their team has filled all of its assigned quota sports in

2915-445: The two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same tracks used by bobsleds and luge (which are sufficiently 'closed' that a participant is highly unlikely to be ejected from the track), the Cresta takes place only on the Cresta Run (which is more open, meaning a rider can fall out of the run if he is out of control). Skeleton sleds are steered using torque provided by the head and shoulders. The Cresta toboggan does not have

2970-402: The village. Formerly a farming village, over the last few decades the importance of tourism has increased dramatically in Celerina/Schlarigna. There are no really big hotels, but a handful of medium and small hotels and inns. The core tourism, however, stems from vacation apartments, both owner-occupied second homes and temporary rentals. There is both summer and winter tourism. The winter season

3025-475: Was introduced as an intermediate level between the Continental Cups and the World Cup; a first-place finish was worth 120 points in the IBSF ranking (vs. 225 points for a World Cup win). The ICC was discontinued after the 2022–23 season to increase the number of athletes participating on the World Cup. The World Cup is the top level of international skeleton competition, and has the most stringent team quotas, with no teams receiving an automatic entry. To qualify,

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