Bobsledding

History

There are early references to people using sledding for fun and sport around the 1400s in northern European countries. In the early 1880s, English soldiers stationed in Switzerland made a curved road (track) between two cities where they would use metal sleds and toboggans to get back and forth. They would use this to help transport supplies and to have fun. Soon after, people started using the metal sleds more for fun, and a few years later, it would become a major sporting event.

Like the luge and skeleton, bobsledding was invented in Switzerland in the late 19th century when a steering mechanism was attached to a wooden toboggan. Some evidence might suggest that this sport was created in Albany, N.Y., a few years before the Swiss made it.

The first bobsledding club was formed in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1897.

They named this sport “Bobsledding” because people’s heads “bob” back and forth to help gain more speed.

Equipment Used

Sled, helmet, racing suit, and spiked shoes.

Each team event will race down a 1,615 m (about 1 mi) track with multiple curves. The track has a different layout for every Olympics.

The first bobsleds were very different from what they are today. They were two skeleton sleds, so they had no sides or covered front and were mostly made of wood and steel. Today, they are more like race cars, with the sides and front covered and made with fiberglass, a steel frame, and the most advanced aerospace technology.

Rules

Teams have 1, 2, or 4 riders who slide down the track for the fastest time. Each team will have four runs to get their best time.

4 events in this category

• Women’s Monobob: Every athlete uses an identical sled with only one rider, the pilot. They use the same sled so the athletes can show their skills and not the technology of their bobsl ed. Each athlete will have four runs, and whoever has the fastest time after the four runs will win the gold. Racers can go as fast as 120 kph (75 mph) down the track. (Added to the Beijing (China) Winter Olympics in 2022)
  
• 2 Women: In this event, there are two riders, the pilot and the breakman. Racers can go as fast as 129 kph (80 mph). (Added to the Salt Lake City (USA) Winter Olympics in 2002)
  
• 2 Men: In this event, there are two riders, the pilot and the breakman. Racers can go as fast as 145 kph (90 mph). (Added to the Lake Placid (USA) Winter Olympics in 1932)
  
• 4 Men: In this event, four riders, a driver, two pushers, and a breakman. Racers can go as fast as 149 kph (93 mph). (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)
  

Women’s Monobob 2022 Beijing

2 Women Team USA 2014 Sochi

2 Men Team USA 2010 Vancouver

4 men Team Canada 2010 Vancouver