Olympic Gold Rush: Making History In A Hurry Flowers and Bakken were not among the favorites in the bobsled event. But theirstunning victory made olympic history as Flowers became the first http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=55882
Spotlight Sport - Bobsledding In the olympics and other major competitions, the bobsled run is at least reports olympic schedules and features an excellent olympic history Museum. http://www.edgate.com/wintergames/design/spotlight_sport/bbsled.htm
Extractions: The bobsled was developed in Switzerland in 1897 when a group of vacationers put runners on a toboggan to get greater speed down the famous Cresta Run at St. Moritz. The sport of racing bobsleds down the mountain quickly became popular among British and American visitors. The first sleds were made of wood but were soon replaced by steel sleds, which were much faster. A part of the Winter Olympic games since their inception in 1924, bobsledding is a sport of exhilarating but dangerous speed. The first organized competition in the sport was held on the Cresta Run on January 5, 1898, with five-passenger sleds with two of the passengers being women. For better steering, they were equipped with four runners, positioned on axles much like the four wheels of a car. With the new design, speeds on the mountainside became dangerously fast, so an artificial bobsled run with a gentler slope was built at St. Moritz in 1902.
Bobsled - Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games Coverage 12/20/2001 bobsled, skeleton have had long ride through history bobsleddingslides into olympic history with high speeds, low times http://deseretnews.com/oly/bobs/0,3987,,00.html
Extractions: 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).
Germany Wins Four-man Bobsled Four years after he became the only man in olympic history to get disqualifiedfrom a bobsled race because of sled runners that were warmer than the rules http://www.canoe.ca/SlamNaganoBobsled/feb21_four.html
Extractions: Saturday, February 21, 1998 Results Four-man final 1. Germany 2 (Christoph Langen; Markus Zimmermann; Marco Jakobs; Olaf Hampel), Two minutes, 39.41 seconds; 2. Switzerland 1 (Marcel Rohner; Markus Nuessli; Markus Wasser; Beat Seitz), 2:40.01; 3. (tie) Britain 1 (Sean Olsson; Dean Ward; Courtney Rumbolt; Paul Attwood), 2:40.06; France 1 (Bruno Mingeon; Emmanuel Hostache; Eric Le Chanony; Max Robert), 2:40.06; 5. U.S. 1 (Brian Shimer; Nathan Minton III; Randy Jones; Garrett Hines), 2:40.08. 11. Canada 2 (Chris Lori, Windsor, Ont.; Ben Hindle, Calgary; Matt Hindle, Calgary; Ian Danney, Edmonton), 2:41.14 ; 12. U.S. 2 (Jim Herberich; Darrin Steele; John Kasper; Robert Olesen), 2:41.27; 13. Czech Republic 1 (Pavel Puskar; Peter Kondrat; Pavel Polomsky; Jan Kobian), 2:41.29; 14. Italy 1 (Guenther Huber; Antonio Tartaglia; Massimiliano Rota; Marco Menchini), 2:41.43.
Brian Shimer Fails Again To Medal -- By Two-hundredths Of A Second A decade ago, Brian Shimer watched Brent Rushlaw lose an olympic bobsled the only man in olympic history to be disqualified from a fourman bobsled race http://www.canoe.ca/SlamNaganoBobsled/feb21_shimer.html
Vonetta Flowers - 2002 Olympics 3/10/2003 American Team Captures Gold and a Piece of olympic history Americans Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers won the women s bobsled race tonight. http://www.vonettaflowers.com/2002olympics.asp?record_no=628
Library Explores African-American Olympic History - The Current - News Library explores AfricanAmerican olympic history, St. Louis Public Library holdsfilm a fictional account of the actual Jamaican olympic bobsled team. http://www.thecurrentonline.com/news/2004/08/30/News/Library.Explores.AfricanAme
Bobsleds Making bobsled and olympic history, Canadian driver Pierre Lueders and Italiandriver Guenther Huber tied to the onehundredth of a second at the end of http://www.cncmagazine.com/archive01/v2i06/v2i06f-bobsleds.htm
Extractions: CNCMagHome Summer 1998 Volume 2, Number 6 story by Scott Rathburn shop photos by Paul Wodehouse Theres the signal. Only 50 feet separate you and the electric eye that starts the timer. You must break the beam within 60 seconds or all is lost, and four years of training will be for naught. To complicate matters, youre standing on ice, and you have to break the beam with a two-man bobsled weighing about 400 pounds. Fortunately, youre not alone. Adrenaline surges as you and your teammate rock the sled back and forth. The clock ticks toward zero. As you sprint for the line, needle-sharp spikes on the bottoms of your shoes dig into the ice. Close on your heels, your colleague urges you on. Once the beam is broken you have 164 feet to build up momentum before jumping into the cramped cockpit of the sled. After a short sprint, you dive in and grab the steering ropes. Your colleague follows quickly and tucks in behind, almost invisible to those looking on.
GOVERNOR PATAKI ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION FOR BOBSLED/LUGE RUN Investment Designed to Encourage Federal, Private Support for olympic Facility Lake Placid s rich olympic history, Senator Ron Stafford said. http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/oct8_3_97.html
Extractions: Investment Designed to Encourage Federal, Private Support for Olympic Facility Governor George E. Pataki today announced $5 million in State funding toward the construction of a state-of-the-art bobsled/luge track at the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) facility at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. "More than 17 years later, Lake Placid still stirs the Olympic spirit in all of us," Governor Pataki said. "By making an investment in the bobsled/luge track, we are making an investment in the future of Lake Placid a future that one day may again be filled with Olympic glory. "Lake Placid is a national even international community, known around the world for hosting the 1980 Olympics and many world-class events since those wonderful days," the Governor said. "This $5 million investment represents our commitment to maintaining Lake Placid's place as a leader in Olympic class competition. "In addition, I am committed to working with our partners in the federal government, as well as in the private sector, to encourage them to follow the State's lead in funding this important project," Governor Pataki said. "I am determined to see this project through to completion and I still look forward to taking a ride on the new track."
Extractions: July 10, 2005 GOVERNOR: LAKE PLACID TO HOST 2009 WORLD BOBSLED AND SKELETON CHAMPIONSHIPS ORDA ORDA, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation Partner to Secure Winning Bid State Investments in Lake Placid Continue to Yield Economic Benefits for North Country Governor George E. Pataki today announced that Lake Placid has been chosen to host the 2009 World Bobsled and Skeleton Championships. The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF), both based in Lake Placid, put together the winning bid that will bring this world-class sporting event, together with hundreds of athletes, coaches and fans, to the two-time Olympic Village. "With its combination of world-class venues, breathtaking scenery, and the dedication and expertise of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, Lake Placid continues to attract international attention as a top winter sports destination," Governor Pataki said. "In the past five years, upgrades at the Verizon Sports Complex have produced the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games, the 2003 World Bobsled Championships and World Cup competitions in bobsled, luge and skeleton on an annual basis. We're proud that our investments are helping to bring world-class sporting events and greater economic opportunity to the people of the North Country." The International Federation for Bobsled and Toboggan (FIBT) recently announced its selection at the annual FIBT Congress in Berchtesgaden, Germany. The FIBT governs bobsled and skeleton internationally, including the Winter Games.
Extractions: Summer Team Sites Archery Badminton Baseball Basketball Bowling Boxing Canoe/Kayak Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field Hockey Gymnastics Judo Karate Pentathlon Racquetball Roller Sports Rowing Sailing Shooting Soccer Softball Squash Swimming Synchro. Table Tennis Taekwondo Team Handball Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Water Polo Water Skiing Weightlifting Wrestling Winter Team Sites Biathlon Bobsled Curling Figure Skating Ice Hockey Luge Short Track Skeleton Skiing Snowboarding Speedskating U.S. Olympic Sites U.S. Olympic Fan Club Free eNewsletter U.S. Olympic Shop U.S. Paralympics Olympians on TV Photo Galleries Sports Jobs Ask an Olympian USOC Pressbox Athletes Events Sports Features ... 2004 games History in the Making Women's Bobsled Preview // by USOC News Bureau - U.S. Olympic Committee ((801) 214-4555) // February 19, 2002 History in the Making By LaKesha Whitaker The Olympic Winter Games is about having that one shining moment, where the roads of victory, success, loss, and heartache all meet as four women emerge to make history on Tuesday. Named team of the month twice by the United States Olympic Committee, the U.S. Women's Bobsled Team has been awaiting this moment, to make their mark in history as pioneers in the sport of Olympic women's bobsleigh. Sliding for 10 years, first as a luge athlete for four years and bobsleigh for six, 23-year-old Jean Racine (Waterford, Mich.) is not letting anything stop her from obtaining her goal. Ranked number one in overall World Cup standings from 1999-00 to 2000-01, she slipped to third after a rocky start last season.
Extractions: Summer Team Sites Archery Badminton Baseball Basketball Bowling Boxing Canoe/Kayak Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field Hockey Gymnastics Judo Karate Pentathlon Racquetball Roller Sports Rowing Sailing Shooting Soccer Softball Squash Swimming Synchro. Table Tennis Taekwondo Team Handball Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Water Polo Water Skiing Weightlifting Wrestling Winter Team Sites Biathlon Bobsled Curling Figure Skating Ice Hockey Luge Short Track Skeleton Skiing Snowboarding Speedskating U.S. Olympic Sites U.S. Olympic Fan Club Free eNewsletter U.S. Olympic Shop U.S. Paralympics Olympians on TV Photo Galleries Sports Jobs Ask an Olympian USOC Pressbox Athletes Events Sports Features ... 2004 games BOBSLED - Winter sports bring ICE back to NBC // Tom LaDue // November 9, 2004 NEW YORK, N.Y. NBC Sports and the national governing bodies representing the sports of curling, luge, and bobsled and skeleton are once again partnering to broadcast a winter sports festival this season. Verizon ICE 2004 will air on NBC on Saturday, Dec. 11, and Sunday, Dec. 12, from 4:30-6 p.m. ET each day. Last Decembers Verizon ICE 2003 was a ratings success, as an estimated 10 to 15-million unique viewers tuned into the two-day program. Sundays segment alone scored a 2.0 rating according to Nielsen Media Research. This number is particularly strong given the fact that the program went head to head with NFL broadcasts.
Hot Topic: The 2002 Winter Olympics For the first time in olympic history, women will compete in the bobsled eventat the 2002 Winter Games. The fifty second, heartpounding, 80mph ride made http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinstall_hot_topic_winter/
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Bobsledding At The Olympics The history. In Saint Moritz, Switzerland (in the Swiss Alps) The followingwere past olympic champions. Twoman bobsled 1998 a tie between Canada and http://library.thinkquest.org/J002862/bobsled.htm
Extractions: The History In Saint Moritz, Switzerland (in the Swiss Alps) bobsledding first became popular in the 19th century. Bobsleds were first raced on icygrounds and icy passes. The first competition was held in 1898 with five-passenger sleds. The sport spread rapidly to other countries, and by 1914, when the first European championships took place at St. Moritz, there were more than a hundred bobsled runs in Europe. In 1923 the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing was created to set up rules for the sport. The next year, bobsledding was introduced into the Olympics at Chamonix, France. By 1950 the sport we know today had taken shape and attracts athletes from around the world today. The Sport Bobsled teams are made up of 2 to 4 people. The weight limit for 4 men is 1,389 LB and for a 2 person sled the limit for a 2 person sled is 827 LB. You start out by the team running down the track till they go about 228 feet. Then before they get to the first turn all the team members get into the sled. The captain of the team steers for the rest of the ride down. Then the team member in the back operates the brakes. If it is a 4 member team then the two middle team members lean backward then go forward real fast like snapping forward. That is what gives bobsledding it's name. When they do that it is called "bobbing". The way the bobsleds are made are like this: they have brakes and a streamlined aluminum cowl mounted on the front of the sled. They go up to 118 mph but the average speed is about 60 to 90 mph. The sled itself is made out of fiberglass and look like rockets because of their shapes. The tracks that they run on are called bobruns. They go up to 118 mph but the average speed is about 60 to 90 mph.
Utah Olympic Park Photo olympic Flame. history / Legacy. Originally known as the Utah Winter SportsPark The bobsled, skeleton and luge track became operational in 1997. http://www.utaholympicpark.com/aboutus/history.html
Extractions: History / Legacy Originally known as the Utah Winter Sports Park, the facility was funded as part of the $59 million tax diversion approved by Utah taxpayers in 1989. The facility was a critical element in the Salt Lake Bid Committee's efforts to capture a future Olympic Winter Games. Construction of the Utah Olympic Park began in 1991 with the Park, ski jump facilities and freestyle aerials splash pool opening in 1993. The bobsled, skeleton and luge track became operational in 1997. In July 1999, ownership of the Utah Winter Sports Park transferred from the Utah Sports Authority to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and the venue became recognized as the Utah Olympic Park. The facility underwent a series of upgrades and renovations for the Games, including the construction of the K120 jump and reconfiguration of the K90. Additionally, the master plan included design of the venue's common areas, infrastructure, transportation system and entrances. The design and engineering phase of all projects was completed in September 1999 with construction completed in the fall 2000. General construction costs were $33 million for sliding track, $21 million for ski jumps, $6 million for infrastructure and $2.5 million for Day Lodge and pool. During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the venue welcomed more than 300,000 visitors during 16 days of competition. The Utah Olympic Park was the site of 14 events with three in ski jumping, three in nordic combined, three in bobsled, three in luge and two in skeleton.
Utah Olympic Park The Utah olympic Park hosted its first World Cup bobsled event in November Milestones in the track s history include the groundbreaking date of June 3, http://www.utaholympicpark.com/facility/bls_track.html
Extractions: Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton Track The construction of the 15 curve and 1,335 meter (8/10ths of a mile) bobsled, skeleton and luge track took 30 months to complete at the cost of about $25 million. The milestone of 100,000 sleds rocketing down one of the fastest tracks in the world since its opening was reached in November 2002. The Utah Olympic Park hosted its first World Cup bobsled event in November 1998, and it continues to be a regular stop on the international World Cup tour in all three sliding sports. Milestones in the track's history include the groundbreaking date of June 3, 1994; completion date of December 28, 1996; and the grand opening on January 25, 1997. The first run on the track was completed by luger Jon Owen from the tourist start on January 10, 1997. The track features five start houses, known as bobsled start, skeleton start, men's start, women's start and junior start. There is also a designated on-track tourist start for a public passenger ride program. The sport of luge is timed to the thousandth (.001) of a second while bobsled and skeleton are timed to the hundredth (.01). Only track records during competition are recognized. Infrared and visible light photocells are used for timing. Other facts and figures about the track are 297,000 watts of track lighting, 62 water hydrants, 24 cameras, 49 timing points and eight scoreboards. A $1 million retractable shading system protects the course from sun and snow, reducing energy usage by 25 percent and eliminating the need to clear snow from the track.
Extractions: National Guard Bureau Public Affairs WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2002 A soft-spoken National Guard soldier steered her two-seat bobsled to a gold medal Feb. 19 in the first women's bobsled competition featured in the Olympic Games. Spc. Jill Bakken, 25, of the Utah Army National Guard and the Army World Class Athlete Program and civilian brakeman- pusher Vonetta Flowers of Alabama drove into the pages of Olympic history Bakken's One of 12 Military Athletes at Olympics American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2002 Gold medal-winning bobsledder Spc. Jill Bakken is just one of a troupe of soldiers competing in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Spc. Shauna Rohbock is an alternate in women's bobsledding. Spcs. Doug Sharp and Mike Kohn and Sgt. Dan Steele are three-quarters of a U.S. four-man bobsled team. Steele is a veteran of 1998 Nagano Winter Games in Japan and is competing in his second Olympics. All three men are in the National Guard. 2nd Lt. Garrett Hines was a brakeman for the two-man bobsled event. His sled missed a bronze medal by .03 of a second. Hines, a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, is also competing in his second Olympics.
NGAUS Soldier Wins Gold in olympic Debut of Women s bobsled history was in thewinning team s corner. Vonetta Flowers became the first African American to http://www.ngaus.org/newsroom/bobsledgold22102.asp
Extractions: Soldier Wins Gold in Olympic Debut of Women's Bobsled By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell (Feb. 21, 2002) A soft-spoken National Guard soldier steered her two-woman bobsled to a gold medal Feb. 19 by winning the first women's bobsled competition ever featured in the Olympic Games. Spc. Jill Bakken, 25, of the Utah Army National Guard and a member of the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program, drove herself and civilian brakeman Vonetta Flowers from Alabama into the pages of Olympic history. The unheralded duo's two-run total time in their bobsled USA 2 of 1 minute, 37.76 seconds, at the Utah Olympic Park, easily beat the two German teams that walked away with the silver and bronze medals. The better-known American team of driver Jean Racine and brakeman Gea Johnson, in USA 1, finished fifth. Johnson was hobbled by an injured left hamstring and could not push that sled as hard and as fast as she needed to for that team to gain the gold or any other Olympic honors. "We were the other team," said Flowers.
Extractions: Sleds that look similar to the modern day bobsled have been raced for more than 200 years. Some historians say the sport started in Switzerland in the late 1800s - but there is also evidence of people racing similar sleds in New York State a few years before that. Bobsledding has been an Olympic event since 1924. The Events There are three events in Olympic Bobsledding: two-man, four-man and two-woman. Each team has a driver who is responsible for steering the bobsled and a brakeman who pulls the brake to stop the sled at the end of the race. On the four-man team, there are two pushers who push the sled at the beginning of the race then jump in for the ride. This is the first Winter Olympics where women have competed in the bobsledding race. Who To Watch
