Which of these things found in the Olympics moves the fastest? Ice hockey puck, bobsled, luge, or speed skier?

While objects and athletes in the Winter Olympics reach incredible velocities, the title of fastest belongs to a discipline that pushes the boundaries of human speed on snow. Though often considered the "fastest sport on ice," luge sleds typically top out around 95 miles per hour. Similarly, four-person bobsleds hurtle down the track at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour. Even a powerfully struck ice hockey (Deals) puck, which can travel over 100 miles per hour, doesn't match the velocity of a speed skier.

Speed skiing is a specialized, non-Olympic discipline where competitors descend a steep, straight course with the sole objective of achieving the highest possible speed. Athletes wear dense foam fairings on their lower legs and aerodynamic helmets to minimize air resistance, allowing them to reach speeds that other winter sports cannot match. Competitors regularly exceed 120 miles per hour, and the world record is over 158 miles per hour. The sheer velocity and focused nature of the course design set it apart from the more varied challenges of Olympic events like downhill skiing, which involves navigating turns and has top speeds around 100 mph.

Interestingly, while it is the fastest of the options, speed skiing is not currently part of the Olympic program. It was featured only once as a demonstration sport at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games. Therefore, within the official Olympic Games, the fastest events are the sliding sports like luge and bobsled. However, in the broader world of winter sports, nothing moves faster on a mountain than a speed skier in a full tuck, plummeting down the course in a pure test of aerodynamics and nerve.