Latvian-born Darta Zunte first to represent Estonia in Winter Olympics skeleton event

Darta Zunte is representing Estonia in its debut appearance in the skeleton luge event at the ongoing Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Zunte, 25, was born in Latvia and has dual citizenship, enabling her to represent Estonia at the Milano Cortina games. She has completed six official training runs at the Milano Cortina Olympics so far, with four competition runs up next.
The training runs are placed, and Zunte finished between 19th and 21st in all six.
Zunte recorded her best time so far, 59.03, in Wednesday's first training run, but at the same time her gap to the winner was the largest at 1.93 seconds.
A total of 25 athletes are competing in the women's skeleton event, with the heats on Friday and Saturday, followed by the medals round.
What is the skeleton luge?
While both events involve sledding down an ice track, as used in the bobsleigh too, the main difference between the skeleton and the regular luge is easy to spot: Lugers go down feet first, lying on their backs and face up, while in the skeleton, the competitor is riding face-down and headfirst. Since this is less aerodynamic than in the luge, speeds are somewhat slower in the skeleton.
The skeleton sled is thinner and heavier than the luge sled and resembles a ribcage, hence the name. Its design gives the rider more precise control of the sled. Unlike the luge and the larger bobsleigh, the skeleton is solely a one-person event.
Estonia's best placement in the luge was the 19th posted by Helen Novikov in the women's singles in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Siim Boikov









