What is the difference between bobsleigh, skeleton and luge?

Bobsleigh, skeleton and luge are three sled-based winter sport disciplines featuring at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

The events all involve athletes hurtling down narrow ice tracks at high speeds, but differ in the way they are performed.

All three disciplines use the same ice track at the Games, but use different start areas.

Bobsleigh has been an ever-present event since the Games began in 1924, while luge joined the list of sports in the 1964 edition.

Skeleton was introduced first in 1928, and then a second time in 1948, before it was made a permanent fixture in 2002 and has been at every Olympics since.

Skeleton and bobsleigh are measured to the hundredth of a second, while luge is to a thousandth.

Men's luge is the fastest of all the disciplines, but all three events can see athletes reach speeds of more than 80mph.

Bobsleigh athletes sit in a seated position in a high-sided sled. Out of the three sled disciplines, it is the only one that is competed in a sitting position.

Speed is built up with a running start over the first 50 metres as members of the team push the sled before jumping in. They then tuck low to avoid movement which could slow the sled down.

Inside the bobsleigh, the athlete at the front (known as the pilot) will use a piece of rope to steer movement around the ice tracks.

The athlete at the back of the bobsleigh uses the brakes to slow speed and stop the sled after the finish line.

Traditionally, bobsleigh is a team sport, but the women's monobob was introduced for the 2022 Games, which involves a single rider navigating the course in a single seated sleigh.

There are four runs in each event and the fastest time overall wins gold.

Luge sees one or two athletes ride a small sled, lying flat on their backs and moving feet-first down an ice track.

It begins when the athlete moves themselves forward in a seated position by pushing their hands against the ice before laying down in an aerodynamic position.

The route is navigated by athletes using their weight, arms and feet to turn their sled down the track as fast as possible.

Luge, which is the fastest sport in the Winter Olympics, features events in single formats, doubles and a mixed team relay, which debuted in 2014.

The relay involves four events: a women's single, men's single, women's double and men's double.

The women's single luger goes first and must hit an overhead touchpad to release the men's single luger.

Last to compete are the doubles teams - the women's doubles go first, then the men's doubles.

The singles events are over four runs and the doubles over two runs.

In all events, the fastest time accumulated wins gold.

Skeleton begins in a standing position as athletes build up speed by running and pushing the sledge before embarking.

The discipline uses the same track grooves as bobsleigh.

It differs from luge as athletes assume a head-first position by lying on their front on a flat sled.

They guide themselves through the course, relying on slight bodily shifts with their shoulders, knees and toes to steer the sled.

At Milan-Cortina there is a men's and women's race, as well as a new mixed teams event introduced for 2026.

The mixed relay consists of one male and one female athlete.

The sport is known as skeleton as when the first sledge was introduced, it resembled the structure of a human skeleton.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.