We learned about bobsledding and the luge from Larry Dane Brimner’s book Bobsledding and the Luge.

        Bobsled racing began in the winter of 1888-89.  An Englishman in Switzerland noticed that sleds were used to haul wood over the snow. The sleds were simple in design. Two wooden runners slid over the frozen surface. Wood for fires was piled on animal skins that stretched between the runners. The Englishman tied two of the sleds together and attached a rake for a brake that could drag in the snow.  The first races were held on icy roads and racers would lean back and jerk forward.  This “bobbing” motion gave the sport its name.

            Racers wanted to go faster so they built special raceways called “bobruns”.  They were coated with ice and had steep sides.  In 1889 the first steel sled was introduced.  It went faster still.  Today’s sleds are built of fiberglass and steel and look more like missiles than wood hauling sleds.  Bobsleds come in two sizes, one for the two-man teams and the other for the four-man teams.

Bobsledding has been part of the Olympics since the first Winter Games in 1924.  The only time the event did not take place was in 1960, when weather and time kept a bobsled run from being built.  In 2002 women will compete for the first time. 

            One of the most important parts of a race is the start.  Racers run and push the sled into the chute.  To keep from slipping, they wear cleated shoes that grip the ice.  As the sled gains speed, they leap into the bobsled right at the starting line.  The man in front steers.  The man in the back operates the brake.  Only the driver keeps his head up.  The others tuck themselves low so they will go as fast as possible.  From start to finish, a record breaking race lasts less than a minute.

            In the Olympics men compete in one and two person luge events and women compete only in the one-person events.  Luge sleds are similar to toboggans and the racers are called “sliders.”  Luge is one of the most dangerous sports in the Olympics.  Lying on their backs, sliders speed down feet first steering with gentle leg and shoulder pressure.  To increase speed, the wear suits, helmets, and special pointed booties.  To start a race, sliders rock back and forth on their sleds and then push off with force.  They wear spiked gloves and use their hands to catch the ice and thrust themselves forward.  Wood, fiberglass, or plastic runners support hardened steel blades.  Luge competition goes back to 1883 , but has only been part of the Winter Olympics since 1964.