Editing Cresta Run (section)

==The run==
The head (top) of the run is located under the remains of a 12th Century church, demolished in 1890, known as the 'Leaning Tower'. The overall drop is {{convert|157|m|abbr=on}} and the gradient varies from  2.8 to 1 to 8.7 to 1 (length to drop).

The modern Cresta track is not shared with [[Bobsleigh|bobsled]], unlike the original half-pipe sledding track built by hotelier Caspar Badrutt for his guests. Most of it is located within the contour of a steep ravine and is recreated each winter using the rocky ravine and banks of earth as a buttress for the [[pack ice]]. The run is owned and operated, created in 1885 by British military officers with the official name of the '''St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (SMTC)''', but is generally referred to as 'The Cresta Run'.

The course has two entrances known as 'Top' and 'Junction' respectively, with two banks, known as 'Upper' 'and 'Lower'. The entrance at Junction is adjacent to the SMTC clubhouse and is about a third of the way down from Top along the run. Similarly, the exit is simply called 'Finish' and given a typical average speed of more than 50&nbsp;mph, an experienced rider will exit the course at more than 80&nbsp;mph when riding from Top.

The track was used for the skeleton event in both the [[Skeleton at the 1928 Winter Olympics|1928]] and the [[Skeleton at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948 Winter Olympics]].<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928w2.pdf 1928 Winter Olympics official report.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217062055/http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928w2.pdf |date=2010-12-17 }} Part 2. p. 14. {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085049/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1948/ORW1948.pdf 1948 Winter Olympics official report.] pp. 6, 23. {{in lang|fr|de}}</ref> These were the only [[Skeleton at the Winter Olympics|Olympics]] with skeleton until [[Skeleton at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002]].

=== Male preserve ===
The exclusion of women from the course, which was enforced until December 2018, dates from the late 1920s and was instituted because of injuries to female racers and the wholly incorrect belief that excessive sledding caused [[breast cancer]]. It came into effect in 1929, though women had been banned from competitive events several years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/68430002 |title=Cresta Run: Women to race the Grand National for the first time in 103 years |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2024-03-10 |accessdate=2024-03-10}}</ref> Up until 2018, women were only allowed to become "non-active" members. In late 2018, St. Moritz Tobogganing Club meeting members voted by a two-thirds majority to allow women to ride the Cresta Run and become "active" members again.