It's safe to say there's an aspect of skeleton that has taken center stage at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics — and it has nothing to do with the racing itself.
For a multitude of reasons, skeleton helmet art is making waves on social media. Just take this SportsCenter post about the United States' Austin Florian, which has over 2.5 million views and counting:
Florian is just one of the many sliders whose helmet is turning eyes to skeleton at these Games. Lets take a look at some of the best ones to graze the ice at Cortina Sliding Centre...
Hong Sujong, South Korea
Hong Sujong is rocking an orange cat with fangs on her helmet.
Valentina Margaglio, Italy
Valentina Margaglio, who was born to an Italian father and an Ivorian mother, wears geometric patterns with the colors of Italy's national flag.
Mystique Ro, United States
Mystique Ro is wearing a black panther with pink accents for her Olympic debut.
Yin Zheng, China
As seen on Yin Zheng's helmet, red is the traditional color of Chinese New Year, which is on Feb. 17 of this year. It also represents good fortune and joy in Chinese culture.
Kellie Delka, Puerto Rico
Kellie Delka is the sole athlete representing Puerto Rico at these games, and her striking helmet features a singular blue-green eye.
Kim Jisoo, South Korea
Kim Jisoo's helmet depicts a scene with traditional Korean talchum (face mask dancing).
Nicole Rocha Silveira, Brazil
Brazilian Nicole Rocha Silveira's helmet features a colorful macaw bird native to South America.
Kim Meylemans, Belgium
Kim Meylemans, who is married to the aforementioned Silveira, wears a white lion on her helmet. The lion has long been the national animal of Belgium.
Hallie Clarke, Canada
Symbolic of Canada and its flag, the maple leaf features prominently on Hallie Clarke's helmet.
Alessandra Fumagalli, Italy
Alessandra Fumagalli's helmet appears to depict the Japanese art of kintsugi, which is the act of repairing broken pottery by tracing the breakage lines with gold-colored paint.
Jung Seunggi, South Korea
Jung Seunggi's golden dragon stands out against a solid dark green background.
Nicholas Timmings, Australia
Nicholas Timmings is taking the phrase 'skeleton helmet' literally.
Josip Brusic, Canada
Josip Brusic's black-and-white design features a pair of eyes in clouds of smoke, and, of course, a maple leaf on his chin.
Nicole Burger, South Africa
Nicole Burger's helmet features a multipatterned take on the flag of South Africa.
Vladyslav Heraskevych, Ukraine
While he wore it in training, Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from participating in his event after the IOC found that his helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia breached rules on political neutrality at the Games. Heraskevych appealed the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the appeal was dismissed.