Skeleton originated with sledding races by British soldiers in Switzerland, mainly on special tobogganing runs built in Davos. St. Moritz decided it needed to keep up with its fellow Swiss resort, so in 1884, Major W. H. Bulpett constructed a purpose-built run for these races in the Cresta valley near St. Moritz, the now famous Cresta Run. This track, now operated by the Sankt Moritz Tobogganing Club, is still the world’s premier venue for the sport, and until 2002 skeleton was only contested when the Winter Olympics were in St. Moritz (1928 and 1948). While only ten competitors eventually took part in the men’s skeleton event, the races were quite popular with the public.
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