Off to a head start
Skeleton is a sport in which competitors hurtle, head-first, down an icy track at speeds that can reach 87 miles an hour (140 kph) with little protection beyond their helmets.
As athletes at this year's Sochi Winter Olympics showed, a real dash of style can be added to this vitally important piece of headgear. Competitors showed up in helmets adorned with a range of designs, like the glowing human brain sported by Canada's John Fiarbairn shown above.