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WorldNet Service Installation Disk - Cybercathlon Games and Interactive Tour of Olympic Museum (1996).ISO
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00834_Field_wt1.txt.txt
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1996-06-03
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There are two bobsleigh events at
the Olympics, two-man and four-
man. Women do not compete in
this event. The four-man bobsleigh
was introduced in the 1924
Olympics; the two-man bob began
in 1932. There have been times,
like in Squaw Valley in 1960, when
the event was not held because
the course was just too expensive
to build.
The sport debuted in Switzerland in
the late 1880s. In its early days,
the bob was more of a traditional
sled, with up to six riders lying on
their stomachs and plunging down
the hill head first. Metal runners
replaced wooden ones in 1932,
and gradually, the sport evolved to
what it is today -- competitors
sitting up in a bobsleigh that looks
like a sports car, or a rocket ship
and attaining speeds of 90 mph.
Bobsleighing is a sport the
Americans once excelled at,
winning Gold in the 4-man Bob in
1928, 1932 and 1948, and in the 2-
man Bob in 1932 and 1936. The
U.S. hasn't won a medal in either
event since 1956.
The greatest bobsleigher in history
was Italian Eugenio Monti, who
won 11 world championships from
1957 to 1968. Monti may best be
remembered, however, for his act
of sportsmanship at the 1964
games. The British team was in
second place after their first run
(it's a 2-run event) when they
found that their sled had a broken
bolt on the rear axle. They were
about to forfeit the competition,
when Monti, at the bottom of the
run, took a bolt out of his sled's
rear axle, sent it up to the British
sled, and watched them win the
Olympic Gold. For his unselfish
act, Monti was awarded the de
Coubertin Medal for
Sportsmanship, and a permanent
place in sports history, far beyond
his athletic achievements.