Interesting Facts

The name bobsledding came from early racers bobbing their heads backwards and forwards. It didnt work, but the name stayed with the sport. Bobsleigh and bobsledding are both correct names for the large sled made up of two sections linked together. The frame is made of metal, the shell of fiberglass or similar material. There are two sizes, twoman and fourman. Until the 1950s, U. S. bobsledders were the best in the world, in part because of technological innovations. Bob and Bill Linney in the late 1930s built a twoman sled with a steel plank as the linkage. The planks flexibility allowed much greater speed through turns. Olympic bobsledding competitions include twoman and fourman. In the Olympics and other major competitions, the bobsled run is at least 1,500 meters (about 1,640 yards) long and it has about 15 or 20 turns. The average slope ranges between 8 and 15 percent.