Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics start on February 4th in Beijing, China. What winter sports do you know about? Let’s read about a few.

A team of four people team on their bobsled

Bobsledding is fast and exciting! Teams race sleds on iced tracks. The tracks are made of concrete. They are coated with ice.

The sport
started in Switzerland. A hotel owner wanted to make something new. The first
time the bobsled was in the Olympics was in 1924.

Photo Credit: David Madison/Getty Image

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France perform at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Ice dancing is a type of skating. Skaters stay close together. They act like dancers on the ice. Ice dancing started in the Olympics in 1978.

Photo Credit: Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock

There are
games after the Olympics. They are called the Paralympics. Para means
“alongside.”

This man uses a sit ski to ski down a mountain.

Photo Credit: Rudolfovich/Shutterstock

The
Paralympic games are for athletes who have disabilities. They come from all
over the world to play. The first games were in 1989.

What Do You Think? Why do you think the Olympics are
important? What games would you like to play or learn more about?