Skeleton at the 1948 Sankt Moritz Winter Games

St. Moritz is the birthplace of skeleton racing, and had only been featured on the Olympic programme before in 1928, when the Winter Olympics were held in the Swiss winter sports town. When the Games returned in 1948, the Cresta Run was once again the scene of the Olympic skeleton races. The race was split into two parts. The first three runs, on day one, were held from Junction (the short course), about 870 m in length. The three runs on day two were held from Top (the full course), with a length of 1231 m over 15 curves. Riders complained the course was not as good as usual, especially the Shuttlecock curve, which caused several falls in practice and during competition, and Rise curve.