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Bobsledding slides into Olympic history with high speeds, low times
Traditionally the darling of sliding sports, bobsledding dates back to the 1880s in Albany, N.Y., born of lumbersled races. Today's world-class U.S. bobsledders are generally track and field and/or football converts because a rare union of strength and speed are essential to jumpstarting the mammoth sleds, which can weigh a maximum of 858 pounds (for the two-man) and 1,386 pounds (four-man).
Two-man bobsledding teams consist of a driver, who steers the sled, and a pusher/brakeman, who provides additional muscle for its initial acceleration. Four-man teams feature two extra pushers.
During Olympic competition, bobsledders descend down an icy track on four different timed runs, negotiating at least 15 curves at speeds that often exceed 80 miles per hour. Times are then combined, and the lowest wins.
 OLYMPIC OVERVIEW
The Germans and Swiss have historically produced the world's best bobsledders, combining to win 19 of the 34 gold medals awarded for the two- and four-man races since the sport's Olympic debut in 1924.
Once prominent bobsledders, Americans have faded from the sport's victory circles over the past half-century. U.S. bobsledder Billy Fiske won a gold medal during the 1928 Olympics, then duplicated the feat in 1932. But the United States has not medaled in bobsledding since 1956, when Art Tyler earned Olympic bronze in the four-man competition at the Cortina, Italy, Games.
Bobsledding produced one of the greats in Winter Olympics history, East Germany's Bogdan Musiol, who won seven medals (one gold, five silver and one bronze) during his Olympic Games tenure. That spectacular consistency ties Musiol for fourth all-time among winter sports athletes.
More history will be made during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City when women's bobsled is added for the first time. U.S. women's drivers Jean Racine and Jill Bakken were ranked first and second in the world, respectively, at the finish of the 1999-2000 season.
EVENT DESCRIPTIONS
The origin of bobsled competition is uncertain. One story by the U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation is that the sport started in the 1880s in Albany, N.Y., when locals began racing lumber sleds. Europeans claim the bobsleds come from Switzerland, where the first international toboggan race was held in 1883.
Today, two varieties of bobsled are used: two-man and four-man. Men compete in both types; women race in the smaller sled.
The Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games will be the first time women bobsled teams compete in the Games, although women bobsledders have raced in other competitions.
Bobsled races were part of the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The two-man sled made its debut eight years later during the Lake Placid, N.Y., Winter Games.
At the top of the 0.8-mile Bear Hollow track, team members push the sleds, running up to about 50 yards before they jump in. With its jointed fiberglass hull and steel blades, a sled may reach 80 miles an hour.
Bobsledding is dangerous. Sometimes sleds roll on the steep, curving course, and usually they don't stop until they pass the finish line. While they are sliding on their sides, athletes sometimes try to keep the weight on their helmets, because otherwise the friction with the ice will burn through their suits.
Races are held in heats, with the shortest cumulative time determining the medal-winners. Men and women have separate events.
In a bobsled competition, the first heat may narrow the field to the top 15 sleds. Then the second heat allows the five sleds with the best times to compete against each other, number five going first and the fastest going fifth. The purpose of that is to preserve the best condition ice for the best teams.
After the first five finish their final heat, the remaining 10 sleds will race.
The latest schedule for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games has three bobsled events, men's two-man sled, men's four-man sled and women's.
Bobsled races are scheduled for Feb. 16, 17, 19, 22 and 23, 2002.
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