Winter Speed Demons

Winter speed demons (and curlers, too) A downhill skier vs. a bobsled? A comically dressed curler vs. a brawny hockey player? Sure, each sport is different - some more graceful, others more death defying, and all performed in varying conditions - but all share something O SOCHI AVERAGE SPEED (events through Wednesday) in common: the need for speed. The Washington Post analyzed the speeds of all major disciplines represented in the Sochi Olympics. This is how far and how fast an athlete AVERAGE SPEED (italic) typically travels per second: Snowboard cross, 35 mph TOP SPEED: TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED PER SECOND 31 mph 37 mph 37 feet per second 54 feet MEN 25 mph per second 29 feet 37 mph per second 20 mph +5-16mph O Cr. country FOUR-MAN BOBSLED/LUGE SKELETON DOWNHILL SKIER 16 feet SKI JUMPER/SNOWBOARD CROSS FREESTYLE SKI CROSS SPEED SKATER 73 feet per second per second 11 mph Capitol 50 mph - 6,5 mph A. Johan Clarey, a French alpine skier, hit 101 mph while compet- FIGURE SKATER CURLER ing in a 2013 World Cup downhill Once released, event. At that speed, he could rocket the curling stone averages about 3 to 4 mph. from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial 88 feet per second CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER/HOCKEY PLAYER - a distance of about two miles – in 1 minute 11 seconds. A curler, gliding across ice, would take nearly Ski jumper's speed at takeoff 60 mph 11 minutes. A person walking at 4.5 mph would seemingly 148 feet take an eternity in comparison, nearly 30 minutes. per second 101 mph Nearly 29 times faster 134 feet 125 feet per second than a curling stone per second 91 mph METHODOLOGY 85 mph Top and average speeds for downhill skiing, bobsled, luge, skeleton, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, speedskating, freestyle skicross and snowboard cross are based on World Cup results from the 2013-14 season. Speeds at which hockey players skate are based on analysis of the National Hockey League's fastest skater competition and game footage women's competition. Average speeds for curling are also calculated based on game footage. The average speed for figure skaters could not be determined; however, skaters need to be going about 20 mph to successfully land a quadruple jump, the most difficult element. 31 mph 31 mph 29 mph WOMEN 29 feet 50 feet per second per second 20 mph 34 mph LUGE 66 feet per second BOBSLED/DOWNHILL SKIER 45 mph SKELETON Union Station SKI JUMPER 11 feet 81 feet per second per second FREESTYLE SKI CROSS SPEEDSKATER 8 mph 55 mph SNOWBOARD CROSS A Belgian and Swiss bobsled team each topped out 82 feet per second at 86 mph on the St. Moritz track 56 mph in Switzerland this season. At that speed, CURLER A. 6.6 mph . and without delay, their bobsled could fly through Metro's Red Line tube from Union Station to Metro Center in less than a minute, arriving more than two minutes Center earlier than a Metro train running at an average speed CROSS COUNTRY SKIER/FIGURE SKATER/HOCKEY PLAYER of 26 mph through that same stretch. NOTE: Cross-country speeds are on the flats only. Isaac Wilson, Amer Nordic commercial manager for Salomon and Atomic Skis, reports that both men and women are surpassing 50 mph on the downhill in Sochi, one of the fastest downhills in international competition. 122 feet per second Sources: International Ski Federation; International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation; 83 mph International Luge Federation; World Curling Federation; International Biathlon Union; 123 feet International Skating Union, speedskatingresults.com; speedskatingstats.com; National Hockey League; zoegillings.com; Montana State University-Bozeman; staff reports per second 84 mph 126 feet per second TODD LINDEMAN/THE WASHINGTON POST 86 mph - Ski jumping, 50 mph R ydu E9 57 mph Luge O 58 mph - Robsled, 56 mph -0- Downhil • 54 mph - 55 mph 44 mph Downhill sküng, 60 mph