Skeleton first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, but it only became a permanent Olympic sport starting with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Quick Scoop: When did skeleton become an Olympic sport?

  • Skeleton’s Olympic debut : 1928 Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
  • Second early appearance: 1948 Winter Games, again in St. Moritz.
  • Long gap: After 1948, skeleton disappeared from the Olympic program for decades as bobsleigh and luge became more dominant.
  • Permanent return : Skeleton was officially added back as a regular Olympic sport at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, with both men’s and women’s events.

If you’re answering the exact search “when did skeleton become an Olympic sport,” the most precise modern answer people look for is:
It became a permanent Olympic sport in 2002.

A tiny bit of story

The sport was born on the famous Cresta Run in St. Moritz in the late 19th century, where riders started racing headfirst on steel sleds that looked “bony,” which likely inspired the name “skeleton.” It got two special-host appearances in 1928 and 1948 because of that local track, then vanished from the Games until equipment changes and artificial ice tracks helped revive international competition in the 1970s and beyond. That revival set the stage for skeleton’s dramatic comeback as a full-fledged Olympic sport in 2002.

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