Watch 2018 Winter Olympic Bobsleigh Live TV>>>>>
The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are right around the corner! That means it's time to watch sports you might not have seen in four years. To help you feel at least a little more informed—either to impress your friends or fake your way through a conversation with an actual expert—SI will be providing rookie's guides to each of the 15 sports. These will be published daily, Monday through Friday, from December 4-22. It's possible your experience with bobsled (or bobsleigh, as it's referred to everywhere outside of North America) might be limited to the cult classic, Cool Runnings. That's fine. We're here to sharpen your knowledge of the sport before the first sled hits the track in PyeongChang.
What events are we going to see?
The Olympics will feature three different bobsled events: two-man bobsled, four-man bobsled and women's bobsled. It's important to note that as of the last Winter Olympics in Sochi, both men and women can participate in the four-person bobsled event. The women's bobsled event is only a two-person event, although four women could occupy a bobsled in the four-man event (which hasn't yet happened).
How long has bobsledding been in the Olympics?
Bobsledding has been a part of the games since the first Winter Olympics in 1924. The sport first took roots in Upstate New York and Switzerland late in the 19th century and became popular throughout Europe, especially within the upper class. The name "bobsledding" supposedly traces back to an early technique that involved riders bobbing their bodies back and forth within the sled to go faster.
What's the strategy when it comes to sledding?
There are more tactics in bobsled than most people would care to know, and most of it takes place in the first few seconds of the event. That's when the crew—composed of a driver, brakeman, and two additional members (in four-man)—go on a mad dash to launch their sled as fast as they can down the track.
It's choreographed chaos where the driver lifts himself or herself into the sled first while sprinting, followed by the two crewmen and finally the brakeman in the back of the sled. In a sport where only one-hundredth of a second separates teams in the standings, everything needs to happen smoothly and quickly. Medals can't be won at the launch, but can certainly be lost.Once every member of the sled is inside it, gravity does the rest of the work as the sled careens down icy curves and straightaways. The driver has a pair of rings to "steer" with, although at 80-plus miles per hour there isn't a whole lot of maneuvering that can be done. Everyone else in the sled assumes a crash landing sort of position with their heads down to decrease wind resistance and increase the sled's aerodynamics.
How often do bobsleds crash?
For a projectile traveling above freeway speeds and barreling down a course made of ice, crashes aren't as frequent as you might expect. But when they happen, much like in racing, they happen in spectacular fashion. Is every sled the same?
There's not a whole lot of variation when it comes to the modern bobsled. Most are made with a combination of steel and fiberglass or carbon fiber. But the most important component of the bobsled is its weight. The heavier the sled, the faster it'll rumble down the course. A four-person bobsled with its crew can legally weigh up to 630 kilograms (about 1,389 pounds). A two-man sled can weigh up to 390 kilograms (about 860 pounds) while a women's sled can weigh up to 325 kilograms (about 717 pounds).At its peak velocity, a four-man bobsled can eclipse 90 mph. The g-forces felt inside the bobsled are supposedly comparable to those experienced in a fighter jet.How are the medal winners decided?
Speed is the name of the game. Each crew will get four runs down the course and their times will be added up. The team with the fastest aggregate time wins the gold medal. Given that there's only one course and each team replicates the same launch strategy, the tiniest imperfections split teams in the standings. The U.S. four-man bobsled, for example, edged Germany by only 0.38 seconds (or in other words, the U.S. beat Germany by less than 0.1 seconds in each of the four runs) in 2010 to win its first gold medal in bobsled since 1948.
How do countries and athletes qualify?
Up to 170 bobsledders will compete in PyeongChang and every spot will be filled based on the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation Ranking List, which will be finalized Jan. 14, 2018. Rankings are based on performance in IBSF's World Cup, Europe Cup and North American Cup competitions.Athletes need to have been ranked in at least five different races on three different courses between October 2016 and January 14, 2018, according to the IBSF. Pilots must be ranked in the top 50 for two-man and four-man bobsleds, while female pilots must rank in the top 40. Countries are permitted to send up to three crews, with host country South Korea automatically allowed to send at least one crew.
An in-depth look at the official qualification process can be found here.
Who are the favorites?
In terms of the official favorites, those won't be determined until the final rankings are published in January. If the current rankings are any indication, the best bet on any U.S. bobsledders will be in the women's event. Jamie Greubel Poser and Elana Meyers Taylor rank second and third, respectively, in IBSF's women's bobsled rankings. Greubel Poser claimed a bronze medal in Sochi while Meyers Taylor landed a silver medal with her crew. Meyers Taylor also earned a bronze medal in the 2010 Whistler games. In terms of historic success, the safe bets are on U.S., German and Swiss crews. According to Wikipedia, Switzerland owns the most bobsled medals (31), followed by the United States (24), and Germany (21). In the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia won (and was later disqualified as part of a doping investigation) the four-man event, while Latvia and the U.S. claimed silver and bronze medals,respectively. Russia also won (and was later disqualified from) the two-man event, followed by Switzerland and the U.S. Canada claimed gold in the women's event while two different U.S. crews claimed the silver and bronze medals. Nigeria's women's bobsleigh team are on the verge of securing a historic appearance at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea - and are confident they can win a medal if they qualify. Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and Akuoma Omeoga achieved the required qualifying standard last month. If they maintain their position in the world rankings until 14 January they will become the first team from Nigeria to qualify for a Winter Olympics."It's surreal," said Adigun."Nigeria have never had anyone in the Winter Olympics and they're excited to see that happen."The Nigerian bobsleigh team racing towards history. Like rolling down a hill in a trash can' In order to qualify for the Games, teams need to be ranked within the top 40 in the world. Nigeria are 40th, according to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. The Nigerian team are all former professional athletes. Pilot Adigun competed in the 100m hurdles at the 2012 Olympics, while brakewoman Onwumere represented her country at the 2015 IAAF World Relays. Fellow brakewoman Omeoga was a track and field athlete for the University of Minnesota. And Adigun believes their background will give them a good chance of being competitive in Pyeongchang.
"No-one signs up to go to Games to not be one of the top three," Adigun said."One of the things that you aspire to is to have a podium spot with respect for the process and respect for the learning curve of what it is that we're actually doing."The 2018 Winter Olympics run from 9-25 February.With the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, just over a couple of months away, BBC Sport brings you a weekly round-up of the big stories.
Landmark success for British sledders
BOBSLEIGH: British bobsledders won a World Cup medal for the second weekend in a row as Lamin Deen and his crew took silver behind Russia in the four-man event in Whistler, Canada. It's Britain's best result in the sport since 2013 and comes after Bradley Hall's team earned bronze in Park City, USA, last week. There was also encouragement for unfunded bobsledders Mica McNeill and Mica Moore, whose fifth-place finish was the best result for British women for over eight years. Unsurprisingly, the women's gold went to Canadian pair Kaillie Humphries - winning her 46th career medal - and Melissa Lotholz.
Muirhead strikes gold
CURLING: Eve Muirhead claimed gold as British curlers proved their credentials for Pyeongchang with medal-winning displays at the European Championships in Switzerland. Representing Scotland, Team Muirhead saw off Sweden in the final of the last major championships before the Winter Olympics. The men's team, skippered by Kyle Smith, were leading Sweden 5-4 after eight ends in their final but a fightback by their opponents meant they had to settle for silver.Summerhayes equals World Cup best
FREESTYLE SKIING: Britain's Katie Summerhayes equalled her best World Cup result with a silver medal in the ski slopestyle in Stubai, Austria.It's a first World Cup medal since January 2014 for Summerhayes, who finished three points adrift of Sweden's Jennie-Lee Burmansson.
Yarnold hits wrong note in Whistler
SKELETON: Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold suffered a setback in her build-up to the Games next year after she failed to make the second run of the World Cup event in Whistler, Canada. A scrappy first run meant Yarnold was only 23rd of the 27 athletes, with only 20 qualifying for the second run. Her British team-mate Laura Deas finished 11th, and she lies sixth in the overall standings. Germany's Jacqueline Lolling is top, with Yarnold dropping to 10th. Yun Sungbin showed why he is one of South Korea's big hopes for the Olympics by winning his second consecutive men's event, setting a new track record.
Shiffrin rediscovers winning form
ALPINE SKIING: Slalom skier Mikaela Shiffrin earned her first win of the season with victory in the World Cup event in Killington, USA. The American, who won the Olympic title as an 18-year-old and is targeting five events in Pyeongchang, had been winless in her first three races of the season for the first time since 2013. Meanwhile, Germany's five-time world medallist Felix Neureuther will miss the Winter Olympics after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in training.
Medvedeva breaks foot
FIGURE SKATING: World champion Evgenia Medvedeva could miss the Grand Prix Final in December after breaking her foot. The Russian, who is the favourite for the Olympic title after going unbeaten for the past two years, has fractured a metatarsal in her right foot but is still hoping to compete in the 2017 finale in Nagoya, Japan. Russians stripped of Sochi medals. Russia has been stripped of a further three Sochi 2014 medals because of doping violations. Among those sanctioned are Aleksandr Zubkov, who won gold in both the two-man and four-man bobsleigh, and who was Russia's flag-bearer at the Sochi opening ceremony. Things looked bad for American figure skater Adam Rippon when he fell on his first jump in his free programme at Skate America, dislocating his right shoulder. However, the American simply popped his arm back into place, and then skated almost flawlessly to earn a silver medal at the event in Lake Placid.One of the biggest sports stories in the world this year broke on December 5, when the International Olympic Committee announced that Russia would be banned from the 2018 Winter Olympic games in South Korea.
Russia (Sochi) hosted the games in the 2014, but was banned due to doping violations.This announcement hit home for a Bozeman native and a current chiropractor in the city, Jonathan Wilhelm, who does the same job for the USA’s Olympic Bobsled and Skeleton teams. Wilhelm has been a part of the program since 2013.While Wilhelm didn’t want to focus on the Russia ban, he did have some feelings about the teams he has worked with over the past several years.I think of the lost opportunities — for the Americans and for the other countries,” he said. “When you’re competing against other athletes that potentially aren’t playing fair, you feel for them.”American Winter Olympians missed the podium and missed the opportunity to travel to the games, as they were beat out by Russian competitors.“They worked their lives to get to (the Winter Olympics),” he said of the qualifiers leading up to the 2014 Games. “Literally, by one-hundredth of a second and by one place, (American Bobsledding teams) lost to the Russians.”The chiropractor didn’t want to delve into the Russian aspect, but he did want to complement the members of his team who have continued to represent America the right way.“We’re proud that we do it clean (and) we’re proud that we do it right,” he said. “We’re disappointed about lost opportunities — and you can think a lot about (those) — but I think our focus now is moving forward and representing our country really well.” The games kick off in South Korea next February.
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