Bobsleigh

Two or four-men, at the start all team members push together to achieve maximum speed.

Then, everyone leaps in the sled with the pilot at the controls, choosing the fastest trajectory into the curves and down the straights, at breathtaking speeds.

Four heats to determine the winners, hurtling over the ice at more than 130 kilometres per hour.

The bobsleigh specialities are competed in teams of two or four.

At the departure, all team members push the sled for about 50 metres: – a distance which is usually covered in less than six seconds to a speed of about 40 km/h – before the crew loads into the sled. The elements of success in the bobsleigh competition are the push, the steering and the materials (sled and runners). The starting order is drawn on the basis of the different merit groups according to the results achieved by the teams in the previous World Cup.

In the Olympic Games, there are four rounds. The team that records the fastest time at the end of the downhill wins. In the case of a draw, there are two winners.

If the sled overturns, but all members of the team have passed the finish line inside the sled, the descent is considered valid.

Technical features

The two-man bobsleigh team is made up of the driver and the brakeman, who are joined by two others in the four-man bobsleigh. The speed reached before the athletes load into the sled is approximately 40 km/h, while the maximum speed reached during the descent is about 135 km/h.

Source: www.torino2006.org

Event schedule