LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (3 January 2007) — Keslie Tomlinson (Potomac Falls, Va.) and Caleb Smith (Lake Placid, N.Y.) won their respective U.S. National Championship titles today at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“This was a fun race for me, and I’m feeling really good about today’s result,” Tomlinson said. “I’m learning more each day I go down the track here, and the conditions were amazing thanks to the track crew.”
Tomlinson claimed her first U.S. National Championship title today after runs of 57.48 and 57.94 for a total time of 1:55.42, despite falling at the start before the second …read more

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Team will begin the new year at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y. with the U.S. Skeleton National Championships and the 3rd Annual Chevy Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, presented by Whelen Engineering.
U.S. Skeleton National Championships will take place on Jan. 2, with the Chevy Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, presented by Whelen Engineering, on Jan. 3-5.
The 2008 National Champion will be decided in a two-heat race format, with the lowest combined time determining the winner in both the men’s and women’s field. Competition will take place on Wednesday from 10:15 am- 12:15 …read more

CHAMONIX 1924
January 25, 1924
It was held in France, 83 years ago!
But, of course, they didn’t know what it was while it was going on. The IOC just named it as such afterwards. Originally, the competition was called International Sports Week 1924.
Trivia: First event to be decided on was the men’s 500m speed skating where Charles Jewtraw (US) won the first gold.
There were 258 athletes (11 women, 247 men) of 16 nations competed in 16 events of 6 sports (Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Skating and Skiing).
Source: www.olympic.org

Who hasn’t heard of the legendary Jamaican Bobsled Team that competed during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary? I sure have. But alright, it’s mainly due to the Walt Disney movie, Cool Runnings that immortalised their first ever effort at the sport during the Olympics.
They reminded me of the fact that Olympics isn’t just about the sport but also about the people behind it. Athletes, coaches, and, of course, the millions of supporters that the team have in their respective countries. Everyone has their own story to tell.
Training hard for the Olympics brings all the elements together to come up …read more

The German Women Team (Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze) zoomed to a Gold in their light blue bullet of a bobsled (Total Time – 3 minutes 49.98 seconds).
American Pilot Shauna Rohbock and Braker Valerie Fleming took America’s first ever medal (Silver) at the event. A Silver that feels more like a Gold indeed.

A flying start for the American Women Bobsled Team (Source: NBC)

Italy’s Gerde Weissensteiner and Jennifer Isacco took the Bronze.
There was a scare at the events when the bobsled of Ilse Broeders and Jeannette Pennings of the Netherlands flipped over. The two escaped serious injuries but were …read more

Canada’s Pierre Lueders captured an Olympic silver medal Sunday in the two-man bobsleigh competition in Cesana Pariol, Italy.
Under heavy snowfall, Lueders and brakeman Lascelles Brown powered their sled down the Italian track for a four-run time of three minutes, 43:59 seconds.
Germany’s Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske won the gold medal while the Swiss team of Martin Annen and Beat Hefti earned bronze.
Lueders, of Edmonton, won a gold medal with CBC bobsleigh analyst Dave McEachern at the 1998 Nagano Games, giving Canada its first Olympic bobsleigh title since 1964 when Vic Emery’s four-man team upset the favoured European …read more

Brazilian bobsledder Armando dos Santos is the first athlete thrown out of the Torino Olympic Winter Games for failing a drug test.
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