Skeleton: How to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026
Find out everything you need to know about the Olympic qualification system for skeleton, including the number of athletes in each event and key dates.
Skeleton
Imagine going down an ice tube, face down on a sled, at speeds that defy the laws of physics, with fast straights and hair-raising curves.
This is skeleton, one of the oldest winter sports. In the last century, it was featured in two Winter Games, St. Moritz 1928 and St. Moritz 1948, the birthplace of the sport. It only became an integral part of the Olympic programme in Salt Lake City 2002, in both the women's and men's events.
Throughout history, Great Britain and the United States have been the nations that have climbed the most onto the Olympic podium in this sport. However, Germany won gold in both the men's and women's events in Beijing 2022, as well as silver among the men. This prominence continues to this day. Current Olympic champions Christopher Grotheer (GER) and Hannah Neise (GER) had a good start at the 2024/2025 IBSF (International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation) World Cup season.
The skeleton at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will have the men’s and women’s events and, for the first time, a third one: the mixed teams event. All action and excitement of the sport will take place at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina D’Ampezzo.
Find out everything you need to know about the skeleton Olympic classification system, including the number of athletes in each event and key dates.
- Milano Cortina 2026 | Register now for the ticket draw of the next Winter Olympic Games
- Skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026 | See schedule
Milano Cortina 2026 skeleton competition format
Skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026 will have three events:
- Women
- Men
- Mixed teams (pair of one woman and one man)
How many athletes will compete in skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026?
There will be a total of 50 athletes - 25 in the women's event and 25 in the men's event.
The mixed team event (team of one woman and one man) will feature 20 teams. The teams will be composed of the athletes designated by their respective NOCs for the individual competitions.
As the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have exclusive authority over the representation of their respective Countries at the Olympic Games, the participation of the athletes in the Milano Cortina Games depends on their NOCs selecting them to represent their teams in Milano Cortina 2026.
How to qualify for the skeleton competition at Milano Cortina 2026
The quotas for skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026 are given to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs). In other words, athletes obtain a quota place for their NOCs.
The distribution of quotas for the NOCs for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be based on the IBSF rankings to be published at 23:59 (Lausanne/SUI time) on January 18th, 2026.
In the men's skeleton event at Milano Cortina 2026, two NOCs will be able to compete with three athletes, six NOCs with two and seven NOCs with one athlete, totaling 25 competitors.
In the women's event, two NOCs may be represented by three athletes, four NOCs by two and 11 by just one athlete, totaling 25 competitors.
The mixed team event (team of one woman and one man) will have 20 teams. A maximum of six NOCs may have two pairs and eight NOCs may have just one. The teams will be composed of the athletes designated by their respective NOCs for the individual competitions.
Athletes selected by their respective NOCs must be ranked in the top 70 men and top 55 women in the 2025/2026 IBSF rankings as of 23:59 (Lausanne/SUI time) on 18th January 2026.
In addition, athletes must have competed in and placed in a minimum of eight IBSF events on at least three different tracks between 1 October 2024 and 18 January 2026 (up to 23:59 Lausanne/SUI time).
In addition, the athlete must have placed in at least five of the eight races on a minimum of two different tracks during the 2025/2026 qualifying period until 18 January 2026 (up to 23:59 Lausanne/SUI time).
Tournaments that award points for the IBSF rankings
Points from the 2025/2026 season earned up to January 18th, 2026, through the stages of the following competitions, will be considered:
- World Cup
- Europe Cup
- North American Cup
- Asian Cup
In cases of equal points in the IBSF rankings of January 18th, 2026, the criteria to break the tie will be:
- Highest number of points obtained in a single race;
- Highest number of points obtained in the last race before the end of the qualification deadline;
- Highest number of points obtained at the second to last race before the qualification deadline, and so on.
Points obtained in World Cup stages will have priority over those obtained in the other race series.
Distribution of quotas by National Olympic Committees (NOCs)
The two NOCs that will be represented by three athletes in both the women's and men's events at Milano Cortina 2026 will be those with the two best athletes in the IBSF rankings who also have a third best athlete in this list to be published on January 18th, 2026.
The six NOCs that will compete with two athletes in the men's tournament will be those of their six best athletes in the IBSF rankings having the second best ranked athlete. For the women's event, there will be four NOCs with two athletes, that is, the four best NOCs in the IBSF rankings having the second best ranked athlete.
In the men's event at Milano Cortina 2026, the remaining seven quotas - after the quotas have been allocated to the NOCs allowed to compete with three or two athletes - will go to the seven NOCs that will be allowed to compete with only one competitor, according to the best athletes in the rankings on 18th January 2026.
In turn, in the women's event, the remaining 11 quotas will be allocated to the 11 best NOCs in the IBSF rankings, with the right to one representative - after quota places have been allocated to the NOCs allowed to compete with three and two athletes.
If the host country (Italy) does not obtain quotas through the IBSF rankings of 18th January 2026, one quota will be made available to the host country in each of the events. To do so, the NOC in question must have athletes ranked in the 2025/2026 season in both the men's and women's events. If this condition is not met, the host country will have no representatives.
For more details about the quotas and how to qualify for Milano Cortina 2026, please check the official documents here.
What are the key dates for skeleton qualification for Milano Cortina 2026?
- 1 October 2024 – 18 January 2026: Qualifying period;
- 18 January 2026 (23:59 Lausanne/SUI time): IBSF rankings published;
- 19 January 2026: IBSF will inform NOCs and National Federations of allocated quotas;
- 21 January 2026 (23:59 Lausanne/SUI time): Deadline for NOCs to confirm allocated quotas;
- 22–25 January 2026: IBSF will reallocate unused quotas;
- 26 January 2026: Registration for Milano Cortina 2026 ends.
Milano Cortina 2026 schedule for skeleton
The skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026 will take place between February 12th to 15th and will feature three events:
- Men (February 12th and 13th)
- Women (February 13th and 14th)
- Mixed teams (February 15th)
Skeleton at Milano Cortina 2026 | Check out the complete schedule
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will take place between February 6th and 22nd, 2026.
Olympic champions in skeleton from the last Olympic Winter Games
Men
- 🥇 Gold: Christopher Grotheer (GER)
- 🥈 Silver: Axel Jungk (GER)
- 🥉 Bronze: Wengang Yan (CHN)
Women
- 🥇 Gold: Hannah Neise (GER)
- 🥈 Silver: Jackie Narracott (AUS)
- 🥉 Bronze: Kimberley Bos (NED)