HOW SKELETON ATHLETES ACHIEVE HIGH-SPEED SLIDING ON THE TILTED TRACK¹⁾

It explains the mechanics why athletes for the skeleton sport in the Winter Olympic Games are able to achieve high-speed sliding on the tilted track, using the d'Alembert principle. Though careful design and implantation of experiments, it reveals that mainly two factors, i.e., appropriate sliding speed and low center of gravity, determine whether athletes can smoothly and safely pass the curved section of the track. In addition, more similar demonstration experiments can be used in the future to promote the teaching work for the theoretical mechanics.