Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh is a high-speed winter sport involving gravity-powered sleds.

Athletes or teams race down narrow, twisting, and banked tracks made of ice. These runs are timed to determine the winner. Competitors use an aggregate time, which is the total from several runs, to decide the standings. In major competitions like the World Championships, teams complete four heats. The sport requires incredible strength, speed, and precise control to handle extreme velocities.

A race begins with a standing start in a push zone.

The crew must push the heavy sled for up to 50 meters before boarding. This initial burst of speed is vital for the rest of the run. Once inside, the pilot takes control of the steering. The pilot uses two metal rings to actuate a pulley system. This system turns the front runners to guide the sled along a specific path called a "line." The brakeman sits at the rear and pulls a lever to stop the sled after the finish line.

Bobsleigh teams are divided by the number of people in the sled. A four-person crew includes a pilot, a brakeman, and two pushers. The pilot provides finesse, while the others provide the power needed for the start. Two-person crews consist of a pilot and a brakeman. There is also a single-person event called the monobob.

Monobobs are used for youth sports and adaptive bobsleigh for athletes who cannot push. In international races, monobobs must be articulated, meaning they have two sections.

The history of bobsleigh begins in St. Moritz, Switzerland. In the 1870s, wealthy British tourists adapted boys' delivery sleds for fun.

These early racers often collided with pedestrians in the town streets. To prevent more accidents, local residents demanded a ban on street racing. Hotelier Caspar Badrutt built a natural-ice run near the hamlet of Cresta to keep his guests entertained. This led to the creation of the Cresta Run, which is still the oldest track in the world. The first purpose-built bobsleigh track opened in 1902.

Modern bobsleigh competition is a major part of the Winter Olympic Games.

The four-man event has appeared in almost every Winter Games since 1924. The only exception was the 1960 Squaw Valley Games, where no track was built to save money. The two-man event joined the Olympics in 1932. Women's two-woman bobsleigh made its Olympic debut in 2002. Finally, the women's monobob was added to the program in 2022.

Modern tracks and equipment are engineered for extreme performance.

Tracks are made of concrete coated with ice and must include at least one straight section. They also require a "labyrinth," which is three turns in quick succession. A high-quality track should have at least fifteen curves. Sleds can reach incredible speeds, with a world record set in 2019 at Whistler. During these runs, some curves subject the crews to as much as 5 g of force.

This force is caused by the rapid change in direction at high speeds.

Sleighs are highly specialized machines made of light metals and aerodynamic composite bodies.

They use steel runners to glide over the ice. To ensure fairness, there are strict weight limits for the sled and crew. For example, a four-man sled has a maximum weight of 630 kg. A two-woman sled has a maximum weight of 325 kg. These limits are reached by adding metal weights if the athletes are too light. This ensures that gravity and mass work effectively for every team in the competition.