About the sport
History:
Bobsleigh was first invented in Switzerland in the late 19th Century when the Swiss attached a steering mechanism to a toboggan. The first bobsleigh club was founded in St. Moritz, Switzerland just before the start of the 20th century. The club kick started the sport to grow at a rapid rate, with growing interest from spectators amazed at the speed and risk involved in the sport
The Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing (FIBT) was formed in 1923 with plans to include 4-man bobsleigh in the Winter Olympic Games. After generating rules and regulations for the sport, Bobsleigh made its Olympic debut at the first ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France 1924. A 2-man event was added at the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, U.S.A., a format that has remained to the present.
The 1950’s was an era where bobsleigh started to change into the sport we know today. The push start was recognized as one of the fundamental aspects of the sport, thus attracting strong, fast and powerful athletes. In 1952, a critical rule change limiting the total weight of crew and sled ending the era of the super heavyweight bobsledder and sealed the future of the sport as an athletic contest of the highest caliber.
Although the powerhouse countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Canada, U.S.A and Russia have dominated the sport over the years, smaller nations such as Australia and New Zealand have earned their right to compete at the high level of competition the sport holds. The first Australian bobsleigh team to compete at the Winter Olympic Games was in 1988 at the 15th Winter Olympics in Calgary Alberta Canada. Since then, Australian bobsleigh has been a regular name at the Olympics and hopes to continue the trend of representing the green and gold on the Olympic stage.
The history of the sport was partially referenced
from the fibt website.
For more information see http://www.fibt.com/