Wok racing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wok Racing

Georg Hackl's four-person wok sled during the 2006 Wok World Championship in Innsbruck.
First played	2003
Characteristics
Team members	Teams of 1 or 4 people
Type	Winter sport, Time trial
Equipment	Wok
Venue	Bobsleigh tracks

Have you ever imagined sledding down an icy track in a giant cooking pan? That's exactly what Wok racing is! It's a fun and fast winter sport where people race down Olympic bobsleigh tracks using specially modified woks. Competitors can race by themselves in one-person woks or in teams with four-person woks.

How Did Wok Racing Start?

The idea for Wok racing came from a bet on a German TV show called Wetten, dass..?. The German TV host Stefan Raab thought it would be a fun challenge, and in November 2003, the First official Wok World Championship was held in Winterberg, Germany.

The event was a huge success and quickly became popular. The second championship was held the very next year. Many of the racers are well-known people like singers, actors, and TV hosts. However, professional winter sports athletes have also joined the fun, including the famous Olympic luge champion Georg Hackl and the Jamaican Bobsled Team.

Over the years, the event became more professional. A qualifying round was added where racers had to jump off a ski jump with their woks to decide their starting order for the main race.

What Gear Do They Use?

An ordinary wok is the starting point for a racing wok.

You can't just grab any wok from the kitchen for this sport! The racing woks are usually imported from China and then modified to be faster and safer.

• The bottom of the wok is filled with a special hard glue called epoxy to make it stronger.
• The surface is heated with a blowlamp to make it perfectly smooth for sliding on ice.
• The four-person sleds are made of two pairs of woks connected by a frame and a coupling.

Because wok racing can be risky, all racers must wear heavy protective gear. Their equipment looks a lot like what ice hockey players wear, including helmets and padding. To help reduce friction on the ice, racers also wear ladles on the bottom of their shoes!

World Wok Racing Championships

Where Are the Races Held?

The Wok World Championships have taken place at famous bobsleigh tracks in Germany and Austria.

• November 6, 2003: Winterberg
• March 4, 2004: Innsbruck
• March 5, 2005: Winterberg
• March 11, 2006: Innsbruck
• March 9, 2007: Innsbruck
• March 8, 2008: Altenberg
• March 7, 2009: Winterberg
• March 19, 2010: Oberhof
• March 12, 2011: Innsbruck
• March 10, 2012: Königssee
• March 2, 2013: Oberhof
• March 8, 2014: Königssee
• March 14, 2015: Innsbruck
• November 12, 2022: Winterberg
• November 11, 2023: Winterberg

Who Are the Champions?

Many different people have competed over the years, but a few have become legends of the sport. Below are the medal winners for the one-person and four-person wok races.

One-Person Wok

Stefan Raab and Georg Hackl at the Wok World Championship in 2008.

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2003	Stefan Raab	Joey Kelly	Detlef Soost
2004	Georg Hackl	Joey Kelly	Stefan Raab
2005	Georg Hackl	Stefan Raab	Joey Kelly
2006	Joey Kelly	Georg Hackl	Stefan Raab
2007	Georg Hackl	Joey Kelly	Stefan Raab
2008	Georg Hackl	Christian Clerici	Joey Kelly
2009	Georg Hackl	Felix Loch	Joey Kelly
2010	Georg Hackl	Joey Kelly	Christian Clerici
2011	Georg Hackl	Felix Loch	Lucy Diakovska
2012	Georg Hackl	Lucy Diakovska	Joey Kelly
2013	Georg Hackl	Lucy Diakovska	Armin Zöggeler
2014	Joey Kelly	Georg Hackl	Armin Zöggeler
2015	Armin Zöggeler	Georg Hackl	Joey Kelly
2022	Joey Kelly	Lucas Cordalis	Jolina Mennen
2023	Joey Kelly	Armin Zöggeler	Sophia Thiel

Four-Person Wok

Amazing Race Records

These racers can reach very high speeds! Here are some of the fastest times and speeds ever recorded in Wok racing.

Speed Records

Course Records

See also

If you think Wok racing is cool, you might like these other unusual races:

• Kinetic sculpture race
• Portland Urban Iditarod
• Shopping cart race
• Wife carrying
• Zoobomb