XXII Olympic Winter Games

By Ashley Mailhot

This February, the XXII Olympic Winter Games are being held in Sochi, Russia. Unfortunately, half of the games played in this competition are forgotten about. Most people only watch the skiing, skating, ice hockey, and bobsleighing events.

For example, most people have never heard of the luge, which is one of the fastest and most dangerous Olympic sports. It consists of one or two people on a very small sled; they lay face up and feet-first. By applying pressure to the sled, the lugers are able to turn it in any direction. During the Olympics, the sleds can reach up to 87 mph!

Another not-so-typical sport that is held at the Winter Olympics is called the curling event. Curling consists of players sliding stones across a sheet of ice towards a circular target marked on the ice. There are two teams of four players; they take turns sliding the stones toward the target. The objective of the game is for each team to try and get all of its stones as closest to the center of the target as possible. The team with the stones closest to the target wins.

For the upcoming Winter Olympics, make sure to watch these exciting events!

Caption: The USA plays in a curling event in a previous Winter Olympic game.