Team USA’s four-man bobsledding team is hoping to win their first gold in more than 60 years during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Bobsledding got its name in the 1890s in Switzerland because riders bobbed back and forth to increase their speed.
Today’s bobsledders use precision moves and a knowledge of physics to maximize velocity – the speed of the bobsled as it races downhill.
Acceleration is the increasing of the bobsled’s velocity. It begins during the 50-meter start when the team’s feet push against the ice to pick up speed. The team gets the bobsled moving by pushing the sled with maximum force.
While they are in the push stage, everything the bobsledders do is important. This is the riders’ only chance to apply force. There isn’t a way for them to apply more force once they are in the sled. If they can can go faster by even a tenth of a second at the top of the course, they can maintain an advantage all the way down the track.
The Vancouver 2010 opening ceremonies are Friday night and to celebrate, the Morning Men of 9News tried out for Team USA.
Okay, I’m a science geek, but I’ve always dreamed of being an Olympic athlete. To realize this dream, I joined my on-air co-workers at 9News – Gary Shapiro, Gregg Moss, Graeme Nistler and Rob Proctor – to form the 9News ice skating team. Here’s the problem… we received some ill-advised guidance from legendary but shadowy Olympic coach Boris Kreskov. This opportunity, along with the $500 I gave him, proved to have some flaws. I also made a bad judgment call when I brought my fire extinguisher. Take a look…
Kreskov put us through a series of unusual exercises that involved both yoga and psychological intimidation before turning us loose on skates.
Shapiro, Nistler and Proctor actually stayed upright. Moss looked fetching in his Spiderman helmet, while I stunned the coach and a handful of onlookers with my use of a fire extinguisher to propel myself across the ice.
