1. Curling

Curling seems to unite the U.S. in an interesting way. There are countless TikToks of people supporting the U.S. curling team and sharing sentiments along the lines of “I have never felt more patriotic than when I watch our curling team compete.” Curling is an interesting sport, as it involves balance, strength and an understanding of science. Competitors balance on the slick ice, push a stone across the ice and create heat on the ice using friction in order to place the stone closest to the center of the designated target.

 2. Skeleton

Skeleton is one of the many terrifying sports that are included in the Winter Olympics. Skeleton involves the athletes running and hopping onto their sled at the beginning of their run. Athletes then use their entire bodies to steer the boards along the track of ice as they barrel down it headfirst at speeds that often reach over 80 miles per hour. At the end of the run athletes must dig their feet into the ice in an attempt to slow down and crash into the ‘landing mat.’ This mat is usually just a simple cushion, not unlike a mattress topper.

3. Ski jumping

Ski jumping is one of those sports that you just have to wonder about how these people found out they were good at this and why it was even created in the first place. Ski jumping involves skiing down a hill on a track that leads you to the jump off point. At that point athletes must jump off the track and fly over the slope of the hill. The athletes must then land smoothly at the bottom of the hill. The scores of the athletes are totaled up between the length of their jump, the wind force against them, form and technique.

4. Luge

Luge in the Winter Olympics has many different categories – women’s and men’s singles, women’s and men’s doubles and a team relay consisting of all four teams. Luge involves the athlete, or athletes, beginning in a seated position on their sled, they then grab onto handle bars attached to the track that they use to propel themselves down the track before laying back on the board to continue their journey feet first, going over 70 miles per hour at some points. The athletes use their entire body to help steer their sleds until they reach the finish line.

5. Biathlon 

The Biathlon is an interesting combination of things – skiing and shooting a rifle. Athletes must ski the distance then make their way to the shooting range where they will take five shots at five targets. If an athlete misses a target they receive a penalty. In relay events athletes will still shoot at five targets but will have eight rounds. In most of the Biathlon events, athletes will shoot a total of four times: twice standing and twice prone. During shooting athletes must keep their skis on, which can make it difficult to maneuver to the prone position.