Skeleton is one of the fastest sports at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Here’s how the head-first sliding event works and who is competing for the U.S. (AP photo)

The bobsled, luge and skeleton are among the more popular Winter Olympics events, and while they have many similarities, there are key differences.

Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.

While at a glance Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton may appear similar, the three sliding events have distinct differences. (AP photo)

Mystique Ro is about to make her Winter Olympics debut. The 31-year-old, who was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Nokesville, Virginia, is looking to make her mark when she takes the stage at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Here's who's calling the bobsled, luge and skeleton events during the 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC.

Skeleton made its Olympic debut at the 1928 Winter Games in Switzerland and became a permanent event in 2002 during the Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Former U.S. skeleton athlete John Daly was once asked why anyone would decide to hurl themselves, head first, down an ice-coated mountainside chute on a thin sled with no safety equipment other than a helmet. Daly laughed. “If I knew that, I probably ...

27-year-old Vladyslav Heraskevych shared that he had donned the helmet in an effort to speak out about Russia's war on Ukraine

Ukranian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych claims the IOC has banned his helmet featuring images of people killed in the war in his home country, in a decision that "breaks my heart".

The United States is the most successful skeleton nation in Winter Olympic history but with most of those medals now gathering dust, the arrival of the new mixed relay at Cortina is a timely opportunity to get back on the podium.