Bobsleigh
Two or four men, at the start all team members push together to achieve maximum speed.
Then, everyone leaps in the sled with the pilot at the controls, choosing the fastest trajectory into the curves and down the straights at breathtaking speeds.
Four heats to determine the winners, hurtling over the ice at more than 130 kilometres per hour. At the departure, all team members push the sled for about 50 metres – a distance which is usually covered in less than six seconds to a speed of about 40 km/h – before the crew loads into the sled.
The elements of success in the bobsleigh competition are the push, the steering and the materials (sled and runners).
The starting order is drawn on the basis of the different merit groups according to the results achieved by the teams in the previous World Cup.
In the Olympic Games, there are four rounds. The team that records the fastest time at the end of the downhill wins. In the case of a draw, there are two winners.
If the sled overturns, but all members of the team have passed the finish line inside the sled, the descent is considered valid.
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