Sports invented/created in the UK that they now suck at: cricket, rugby, football, curling, netball?, field hockey, polo?.

I wasn't aware there were rules for slalom...when I watched it over the weekend it just seemed as though they ploughed through all the gates which are now just poles that quickly bend.

not very many, but that's hardly the point. Not very many people race a formula one car, either, but that doesn't stop hundreds of thousands turning up to watch a race.
Relevance of the achievement? It's the Olympic Games. The relevance of the achievement is that you do that more quickly than anybody else on the planet. Isn't that enough? One gold is the same as every other. Of course it is. It indicates that you have won an Olympic event. One of my kid's friends is the daughter of the alternate on the Canadian women's curling rink. Her mum didn't set foot on the ice in Sochi, but she trained with the team every single day in the months leading up to the Olympics, and was absolutely a part of the team during every single round of the competition. You can bet she is every bit as proud of her achievement in winning an Olympic gold medal - probably, in fact, infinitely more so - than some millionaire hockeyist who doesn't have to hold down a full time job and bring up a family in addition to finding time out-of-hours to train for their event. That is exactly what the Olympics is all about.
I disagree. Attention span of a gnat, your average US teenager Absolutely. It's kind of sad, if inevitable, to hear on the radio this morning that all the media infrastructure is already being dismantled in Sochi, with the Paralympics still a couple of weeks away.

I don't see a comparison between Formula 1 and Skeleton. Formula 1 will never be an Olympic sport and billions of cars are driven everyday. Formula 1 is a showcase of racing technology with a small element of human skill (all be it I don't dispute the skill or fitness of the folk involved being quite high).

Also where does the Skeleton fits into society as being a sport or a leisure persuit. If it wasn't in the next Olympics would anyone notice?

I'm sure winning a gold medal brings satisfaction to a person who has put their 10,000 hours of training in. But what does the medal really say and is it really any achievement?

Mediocrity should not be celebrated in the same way excellence is. A gold medal points to someone being the best in the world in their field but if there are not many participants or few teams of a competitive standard then it is odd that a person can feel a sense of that level of achievement when there is clearly nothing worldly about what they have done.

There should be a qualification number of countries and people who practice a sport regularly before it can be a recognized Olympic event.

The bottom line is the winter olympics are really just a bit of fun. Two weeks is a bit long but it puts something on the tv other than singing contests.

What I like about the skeleton is that it is the quickest down the hill - period. No style points, no anal judges being bought off by their home country, pure sport, the fastest fat thin short tall person down wins!

I enjoyed watching it. Don't get me wrong.

I just put Usain Bolt's 100 metre gold medal on a much higher pedestal.

There is a lot more skill involved in skeleton than the 100m.

Can't see them packing the bars at 7am for a 100m run race !!

Seriously? Afraid I'm with burks and magnumpi on this one

But it's no achievement. Everyone on the planet can sprint 100 metres.

The flagship event of the Olympics????

More people will watch that 10 seconds globally than any other event of any games. Period.

Nothing left to be said.

If you can't see the achievement in being the fastest man on the planet then you belong with those two.

I'd happily have been in the Olympic Stadium on 6th August 2012 watching athletics versus the two mentioned Magnumpi events. In fact I can not think of a day in recent sporting history that tops it and certainly nothing in Sochi or Vancouver.

No credible sporting fan would disagree with me.

Bolt's achievements are no more or less than anyone else that reaches the pinnacle in their chosen sport. Every sport at that level requires focused dedication, years of training and commitment. Are you suggesting that being the fastest sprinter over the shortest distance took more dedication (and is therefore more worthy of praise) than becoming the best alpine competitor or sliding sport participant? If you are, you've no clue or experience of what it takes to place in the medals at any Olympics.

The trouble is that many sporting fans have no credibility because they've not got much clue about biomechanics, physiology, sports psychology or commitment, so they make generalizations that are baseless.

Apart from the laughably naive assertion that winning an Olympic sliding gold is "no achievement," let's look at your comparison with sprinting. Every kid anywhere in the world where it snows can slide down a hill on a teatray. That is to sliding sports what running for the bus is to Bolt's 100m sprint. Not every runner gets to sprint out of starting blocks on a Tartan track. Not every slider gets to go down an ice halfpipe on a skeleton sled. But steerable toboggans have been in the leisure market for many years, developed in large part from technology used in bob, luge and skeleton.

As to your point about Olympic recognition: it was acknowledged way up near the beginning of this thread somewhere that fewer countries participate in the Winter than the Summer games. Within that context, though, the competition at international level is seriously fierce in the sliding sports. By your argument, the one sport that should lose its place in the next winter games would be women's hockey. "Few teams of a competitive standard" has been a long-standing criticism of the game. I suspect not many Canadians would agree with you if you tried to suggest it...

And look at the long road to Olympic recognition for female ski jumpers. There is an established world cup circuit and regular championship series. Not very many high-level competitors challenge for podiums, but there are over 60 on the world cup circuit competing internationally week-in and week-out through the season. I'd say that gives them the right to represent their country at an Olympic games, and that an Olympic medal is something of which they can be justifiably proud. If you want to diminish their achievement, go right ahead, but I'll not pay much attention to your opinion, I'm afraid.

Being the fastest man on the planet is a far bigger achievement than placing on the alpine.

Most people grow up running sprint races in school. Very few grow up skiing down an alpine hill.

I have no doubt these athletes train hard at what they do. But the achievement put in perspective is not as great because the participation is not as wide because of the expensive barrier to entry.

Also being a track and field athlete is a full time job where training is mixed in with dieting and recovery.

No one suggested that it took more dedication to be the best but it certainly didn't take less. I wouldn't start banding others clueless because you are making suggestions for them. I can safely "suggest" you have never been near a podium in your life.

A track and field athlete is likely to be the best at their persuit. The definition of a good snowboarder and skier would advance significantly if it was able for the sport to be more widely adapted. These human beings are the best based on their dedication but would any of them be near the top of the podium if everyone in Africa and the rest of the world was able to carry out their persuit. Probably not.