Bobsleigh at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....

competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre

Whistler Sliding Centre

The Whistler Sliding Centre is a Canadian bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Whistler, British Columbia, that is north of Vancouver. The centre is part of the Whistler Blackcomb resort, which comprises two ski mountains separated by Fitzsimmons Creek...

between 20 and 27 February 2010.

Medal table

1		1	2	0	3
2		1	1	1	3
3		1	0	1	2
4		0	0	1	1
	Total	3	3	3	9

Events

Three bobsleigh events were held at Vancouver 2010:

Two-man	André Lange André Lange André Lange is a retired German bobsledder and the most successful bob pilot of all time who competed at senior level from 1998 to 2010. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he has won four gold medals. He was born in Ilmenau, Thuringia.... Kevin Kuske Kevin Kuske Kevin Kuske is a German bobsledder who has competed since 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he has four gold medals and one silver medal....	3:26.65	Thomas Florschütz Richard Adjei Richard Adjei Richard Adjei is a German bobsledder who has competed since 2007 and former American football linebacker.-Biography:...	3:26.87	Alexandr Zubkov Alexey Voyevoda	3:27.51
Four-man	Steve Holcomb Steve Mesler Curtis Tomasevicz Curtis Tomasevicz Curtis Tomasevicz is an American former college football player for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, and bobsledder who has competed since 2004... Justin Olsen Justin Olsen Justin Olsen is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2008. He won two medals at the 2009 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York with a gold in the four-man and a bronze in the mixed team events....	3:24.46	André Lange André Lange André Lange is a retired German bobsledder and the most successful bob pilot of all time who competed at senior level from 1998 to 2010. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he has won four gold medals. He was born in Ilmenau, Thuringia.... Kevin Kuske Kevin Kuske Kevin Kuske is a German bobsledder who has competed since 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he has four gold medals and one silver medal.... Alexander Rödiger Alexander Rödiger Alexander Rödiger is a German bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He won a silver medal in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.... Martin Putze Martin Putze Martin Putze is a German bobsledder who has competed since the early 2000s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the four-man event with a gold in 2006 and a silver in 2010....	3:24.84	Lyndon Rush Lyndon Rush Lyndon Rush is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2004.Rush also won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.... David Bissett David Bissett (bobsleigh) David Bissett is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2005. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event at Vancouver in 2010 Winter Olympics.... Lascelles Brown Lascelles Brown Lascelles Brown is a Jamaican-born Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 1999 . Competing in three Winter Olympics, he is the first Jamaican-born athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal... Chris le Bihan Chris le Bihan Chris le Bihan is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2004. He won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver....	3:24.85
Two-woman	Kaillie Humphries Kaillie Humphries Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian bobsledder. Humphries has competed since 2004 and currently slides with Heather Moyse as her brakeman... Heather Moyse Heather Moyse Heather Moyse is a Canadian athlete, representing Canada in international competition as a bobsledder and rugby union player, and competing at the Canadian intercollegiate level in rugby, soccer and track and field.-Awards:...	3:32.28	Helen Upperton Helen Upperton Helen Lesley Upperton is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2000. Upperton was born in Ahmadi, Kuwait as her parents involvement in the oil industry meant they traveled abroad. She holds dual citizenship of both Great Britain and Canada... Shelley-Ann Brown Shelley-Ann Brown Shelley-Ann Brown is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. She was born in Scarborough, Ontario to Jamaican immigrant parents, and also raised in nearby Pickering, Ontario...	3:33.13	Erin Pac Erin Pac Erin Pac is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2002. She won two medals in the mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event at the FIBT World Championships with a silver in 2007 and a bronze in 2008.... Elana Meyers Elana Meyers Elana Meyers is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2007. A native of Fairburn, Georgia who now lives in Douglasville....	3:33.40

Competition schedule

All times are Pacific Standard Time

Pacific Time Zone

The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...

(UTC-8

UTC-8

UTC−08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −08. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Canada**Northwest Territories***Tungsten and the associated Cantung Mine*Mexico...

).

|-bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Day !! Date !! Start !! Finish !! Event !! Phase
|- style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 9 || Saturday 2010-02-20 || 17:00 || 19:40 || Two-Man || Heats 1 and 2
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 10 || Sunday 2010-02-21 || 13:30 || 15:50 || Two-Man || Heats 3 and 4
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 12 || Tuesday 2010-02-23 || 17:00 || 19:00 || Women || Heats 1 and 2
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 13 || Wednesday 2010-02-24 || 17:00 || 19:00 || Women || Heats 3 and 4
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 15 || Friday 2010-02-26 || 13:00 || 15:45 || Four-Man || Heats 1 and 2
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
|| Day 16 || Saturday 2010-02-27 || 13:00 || 15:25 || Four-Man || Heats 3 and 4
|}

Practice

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

's André Lange

André Lange

André Lange is a retired German bobsledder and the most successful bob pilot of all time who competed at senior level from 1998 to 2010. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he has won four gold medals. He was born in Ilmenau, Thuringia....

had the fastest time in two-man practice on the night of 17 February 2010. There were eight crashes among 57 runs taken that night. Three crashes occurred during the 18 February 2010 two-man training session. Among the crashes in the two-man event were Switzerland's Beat Hefti

Beat Hefti

Beat Hefti is a Swiss bobsledder who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a total of three bronze medals ....

and Daniel Schmid who both withdrew from the two man event. Meanwhile Latvia's Janis Minins

Janis Minins

Jānis Miņins is a Latvian bobsledder who has competed since 1999. He won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2009 in Lake Placid, New York, earning the country its first championship medal ever.In the 2004–05 season his best placing was a sixth place in the 4-man...

withdrew to appendicitis

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...

and the emergency surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

that followed on 12 February. Minins returned to competition for the four-man event eleven days later.

Supplemental training was offered on 19 February 2010 to both the two-woman and four-man bobsleigh events out of caution and further preparation for both events in the that would take place the following week. American bobsledder Shona Rohbock expressed concerns on the 19th that the track could generate speeds that are too dangerous for racing. She stated that she had never experienced speeds at even bobsleigh track she had experienced, event at the St. Moritz

St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun

The St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is a bobsleigh piste located in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Constructed in 1903, it officially opened on New Year's Day 1904 and is the oldest bobsleigh track in the world and the only one that is naturally refrigerated...

track. Officials had told Rohbock that they are considering sanding the runners to slow down the sleds to slow down the speeds. Elana Meyers

Elana Meyers

Elana Meyers is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2007. A native of Fairburn, Georgia who now lives in Douglasville....

, an American brakewoman, commented on Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

that same day that "We (referring to her and her driver Erin Pac

Erin Pac

Erin Pac is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2002. She won two medals in the mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event at the FIBT World Championships with a silver in 2007 and a bronze in 2008....

) went 145 km/h (90.1 mph).. that's fast!" One crash occurred on the 19th for the two-woman event when Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

bobsledder Esme Kamphuis

Esme Kamphuis

Esmé Kamphuis is a former Dutch heptathlete, who has competed as a bobsledder since 2004. Her best Bobsleigh World Cup finish was 12th in the two-woman event at Königssee in February 2008....

crashed out in the final corners of the track.

Minor changes were made to the track on 22 February 2010 after bobsleigh four-man teams from Latvia and Croatia

Croatia at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Croatia participated at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Croatian delegation consisted of nineteen athletes in four sports.- Medalists :- Alpine Skiing :Croatia qualified ten alpine skiers...

rolled over in supplementary training. Following a meeting with 11 team captains, training runs were postponed by the FIBT until later that day to adjust the shape of turn 11 so it would be easier for sleds to get through the rest of the track without crashing. FIBT spokesman Don Krone stated that "...some drivers have been experiencing difficulties transitioning from turn 11 to turn 12." As a result, Krone stated that "The FIBT track commission, in conjunction with VANOC and with advice from a number of team captains, are working on the shape of turn 11 to make it easier for drivers to get high enough on 11 to turn 12 so that they can successfully make it through turn 13." Krone also stated that it was common that the profile of corners were changed when it was being used by other sliding disciplines (luge and skeleton).

After track alterations were done on 23 February 2010, the two fastest four-man times were done by Germany's Lange and the United States' Holcomb. Australia withdrew its four-man team on 23 February 2010 to two of its crew members, Duncan Harvey

Duncan Harvey

Duncan Harvey is an Australian bobsledder who has competed since 2008. He finished 29th in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2009 in Lake Placid, New York....

and Duncan Pugh

Duncan Pugh

Duncan Michael Pugh is an Australian bobsledder who has competed since 2007. He competed in lesser known events, earning his best finish of third in a two-man event in Calgary in December 2009....

, suffering concussions. Australia chef de mission Ian Chesterman

Ian Chesterman

Ian Chesterman is a member of the Australian Olympic Committee and an Australian Winter Olympic administrator.He has been the Chef de Mission at the 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Torino Winter Olympics...

stated that the decision was not taken lightly and was done on the side of safety. Meanwhile, Latvia's Janis Minins

Janis Minins

returned to practice on the 23rd in the wake of the emergency surgery

Surgery

on 12 February in the wake of an appendicitis

Appendicitis

attack.

Lange had the fastest practice times on the 24th with the final two practices taking place on the 25th. That same day, Australia withdrew to injuries to Harvey and Pugh of Australia while Edwin van Calker

Edwin Van Calker

Edwin van Calker is a Dutch bobsledder who has competed since 2001. His best Bobsleigh World Cup finish was third in the two-man event at St. Moritz in January 2010....

of the Netherlands

Netherlands

withdrew to a lack of confidence of driving the four-man sled during the event. This was also despite no crashes during four-man training had taken place prior to the 24th. The Dutch team supported van Calker's decision on this. Minins withdrew from the four-man event on the 25th to crashing twice during practice where one of his crews suffering a concussion and another suffering bruised lungs and elbows.

Athlete/NOC quota

170 athletes are allowed to compete in accordance with the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

and the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT). This includes 130 for two-man and four-man bobsleigh (30 teams for each type of men's bobsleigh) , and 40 for two-woman bobsleigh (20 teams).

Qualification system

The best result of each driver will be ranked by the FIBT, including World Cup and lesser known Cup. These races scored are the same ones as the World Cup event. These driver must rank among the top 50 in the FIBT for the 2009-10 seaon by 17 January 2010, held at St. Moritz

St. Moritz

St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. For men's bobsleigh, three countries can send three teams, seven countries can send two teams, and seven more countries can send one team (Applies to both two-man and four-man). For women's bobsleigh, two countries can send three teams, four countries can send two teams, and six countries can send one team. For all three events, the host country is included provided they meet the minimum requirements. Each NOC declared their entries on 22 January 2010. Entering the World Cup event in St. Moritz, the top two countries to have three two-woman teams were Germany

Germany

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. For two-man, the top three countries to have three teams were Germany, Switzerland

Switzerland

, and the United States while for four-man, the three countries to have three teams were Germany, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and the United States. This was announced on 20 January 2010. Reallocation was announced on 26 January 2010.

Nations	Two-man	Four-man	Two-woman
	2	0	1
	2	1	0
	0	0	1
	2	2	2
	0	1	0
	1	2	0
	3	3	3
	1	1	2
	0	0	1
	2	1	1
	1	1	1
	1	1	0
	1	0	0
	1	0	0
	1	0	1
	1	1	0
	1	1	1
	2	3	2
	0	1	0
	0	1	0
	1	1	0
	1	1	2
	3	3	3
Total: 23 NOCs	27	25

Austria declined their second spot in the four men event. Australia takes this spot instead.

Notes

Competing nations

The following nations have entered the following number of athletes.

External links

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