Bobsleigh

Origins

The sport of Bobsleigh was invented in the late 1860s by an Englishman. It is a winter time sport in which a team make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled.





The Bobsleigh Run at Calgary, Canada.

Originally teams consisted of five or six members and two crestas were attached together with a board and a mechanism for steering attached to the front of the sleigh. The sleds are now of ultra modern fibre glass and metal design rather than wood and teams consist of either either four or two members.

It was the visionary and wealthy hotel owner Caspar Badrutt who created the first natural “half-pipe” track. Built in the 1870s, this track is still in use today and has hosted two Olympics.

Caspar Badrutt's vision and marketing efforts, coupled with the curiosity of English tourists and the idea of “winter resorting” led to adaptations of sleds created for recreational use. This resulted in the head first skeleton, luge and bobsleighs.

Originally racing was done on snow covered roads. Since this time tracks have evolved from straight runs into ones with exhilerating twist and turns.

The first formal competition was held in 1884 and the first club formed in 1897.

1902 saw the first track created solely for bobsleighing opened.

Competition and Present Day Bobsleigh

The first Olympic team was a four man crew in the 1924 games and the first two man crew event was added in 1932. Woman did not start competing until the 1990s, making the first Olympic event in 2002 with a two woman crew.

The most successful teams are from Germany and Switzerland, but the most famous is from Jamaica. The Jamaican team inspired the movie “Cool Runnings” in which training and exploits became the make up of the film. In Lillehammer they finished 14th their best finish and ahead of the both teams of the United States.

Two man teams consist of a pilot and a brakeman. Four man teams have an additional two pushers.

Demands of Bobsleigh

The sport requires a high level of fitness. It demands strong leg muscles to develop the speed needed to attain the initial momentum required at the start of the event.

Speeds are high and courage and skill are a necessity for all competitors. There are often spectacular and often serious crashes in the event.

In addition to the development of specific skills of steering and getting the sled down the run successfully competitors derive great benefit from developing great leg strength and explosive sprinting speed with specific resistance programs.