Disabilities don't keep bobsledders out of the race

Aaron Lanningham is a self-identified "speed freak" and has been for most of his life. He raced motorcycles, cars and even went for land-speed records.

Ten years ago, he was pulled from the fast lane and confined to a wheelchair.

He lost the use of his legs in a crash during a professional motorcycle race. He did not, he is quick to point out, lose his love for speed.

A few months ago he was told he could race again. This time it would be in a bobsled.

It was a new program, never before attempted, and to anyone's knowledge, it was the first in the world. The objective: To put an individual with a disability behind the controls of a bobsled and have them zoom down the track as fast as possible.

It made sense, explained Meeche White, director of the National Ability Center in Park City, who came up with the idea after the track at the Utah Olympic Park was built.

"Everyone was so busy with the Olympics at that time it wasn't possible. Now it is," she said.

The center offers more than 20 programs for individuals with disabilities, ranging from skiing to horseback riding.

In the bobsled program, about a dozen drivers and/or brakemen are in training. The youngest is 18, the oldest 45.

Lanningham is currently the lead driver. In the development of a bobsled driver, he's passed stage one, starting from the "Tourist Start," which takes very little driving skill, and is ready to move up to the "Women's Start," which requires a lot of skill and a yearning for speed. From there it's to the top and the "Men's Start."

It's a progression he said he's OK with, "but I'm anxious to go higher and go faster. I want to start from the top," he said.

Driving a bobsled, he explained, "is more like driving a car. I tried competing for three or four years on the monoski, but driving a bobsled is more along the lines of what I did best."

(The monoski — or sit-ski — is a chairlike device that sits on a single ski. Those with lower body immobility learn to ski using two outriggers — or ski poles with smaller skis on the base — for balance.)

One of White's objectives, along with creating a new programs for those with disabilities, is to someday see the bobsled as an event in the Paralympics.

There are now only five events in the Games, "and officials are anxious to introduce more . . . this is one that would fit in perfectly," she said. In order to have the bobsled included, seven other countries will need to develop bobsled programs.