Winter Olympics: what is bobsleigh? Everything you need to know, from Beijing 2022 contenders to origins and ‘Cool Runnings’ influence
- One of the most intense sports at the Games, bobsleigh could again steal the show
- Beijing will see introduction of a new women’s event, with Germany looking to continue domination from Pyeongchang
Popularised by the classic 1993 film Cool Runnings, bobsleigh is one of the most iconic sports at the Winter Olympics.
With athletes reaching speeds of up to 150 kilometres per hour as they hurtle down the ice, the event will once again be one of the most intense on show in the Beijing 2022 programme.
What is bobsleigh?
Bobsleigh is a winter sport where athletes push a sleigh down an ice track and compete to reach the finish line in the fastest time. It is one of the three sliding sports on the Beijing Winter Games programme, alongside luge and skeleton.
The sleighs are made with a combination of steel, fibreglass or carbon fibre.
Athletes begin their runs by pushing their sleighs for up to 50 metres before crew members hop on board. They will then barrel down the track as the driver, who sits at the front, steers the sleigh for the fastest possible trajectory.
A fast and well-coordinated start is important, as competitions are won or lost within a few hundredths of a second.
The amount of athletes and size of the bobsleigh depend on the event, with sleighs for one- to four-person crews. The Winter Olympics will include a new one-woman monobob event, in addition to the traditional four-man, two-man, and two-women events.
Scores are calculated over a series of four runs, with the fastest aggregate time winning the gold medal.
In the monobob event, one athlete will push, drive and brake their sleigh all by themselves.
Where did the sport originate?
The sport of bobsleigh began in Switzerland in the late 19th century, where a steering mechanism was attached to a toboggan.
The first bobsleigh club was founded in Switzerland in 1897, helping to popularise the sport across Europe, with different races taking place by the early 20th century.
Early sleigh were made of wood, but they were later replaced by ones made of steel. Known as bobsleighs for the way athletes bobbed back and forth to gain speed, it was also how the sport got its name.
The sport has been part of the Olympics since the 1924 debut of the four-man event. A two-man event was later added in 1932, and a two-woman event at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. The 2022 Beijing Games will feature the women’s monobob for the first time.
Which countries are the best?
The sport has historically been dominated by Switzerland and Germany.
Switzerland is one of the most successful nations in bobsleigh with a total of 31 Olympic medals across different disciplines. However, the last time the Swiss team medalled was in the 2014 Sochi Games, where they won gold in the two-man bobsleigh event.
Germany continues to be a bobsleigh powerhouse, winning 13 Olympic gold medals out of its total of 25 – the most among taking part countries. In the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, the German team swept all the gold medals, making them a strong contender for Beijing.
The introduction of the two-woman event to the Olympics has also boosted the medal hopes of other countries such as the United States, Canada and Italy.