Winter Olympics preview: Four-man Bobsleigh
Object Of The Game
Each crew is comprised of a pilot at the front, a brakeman in the rear and two pushers in the middle. The crew start from a standing position and push the sled up to speed at the start. After that, the pushers provide extra weight in the sled as the pilot and the brakeman work together to guide the sled down the winding track of ice in the fastest possible time.
Details
120 competitors in 30 crews
Each crew will race a total of four heats, with the winner determined by lowest aggregate time.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2/22/2014 | 11:30 | Heat 1 |
| 13:00 | Heat 2 | |
| 2/23/2014 | 4:30 | Heat 3 |
| 6:00 | Heat 4 |
All times EST.
Most Likely Podium
Germany (Maximilian Arndt, Marko Huebenbecker, Alexander Rodiger, Martin Putze) - This 2013 World Championship crew also captured the 2012 and 2013 European Championships. Arndt will be competing in his first Olympics at the age of 26 and appears ready to pilot his four-man crew to a podium finish.
United States (Steven Holcomb, Christopher Fogt, Steven Langton, Curtis Tomasevicz) - Holcomb will attempt to defend his 2010 gold medal with a slightly altered crew. Christopher Fogt and Steven Langton replaced pushers Steven Mesler and Justin Olsen and the new crew won four world cup events, including the final race of the season on Jan. 26.
Latvia (Oskars Melbardis, Daumants Dreiskens, Arvis Vilkaste, Janis Strenga) - A dark horse crew to earn a medal at Sochi, the Latvians surprised many by winning two of the final three World Cup events prior to the Olympics. The crew is led by 25-year-old pilot Oskars Melbardis, who won both the two-man and four-man competitions at the World Junior Championships in 2012. A very similar Latvian crew with Melbardis as pilot also won the final event of the 2012-13 World Cup, which was held at Sliding Center Sanki in Sochi.
2013 World Championships
Germany (Maximilian Arndt, Marko Huebenbecker, Alexander Rodiger, Martin Putze)
Russia (Alexandr Zubkov, Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Maxim Mokrousov)
United States (Steven Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steven Langton, Curtis Tomasevicz)
2010 Winter Olympics Podium
United States (Steve Holcomb, Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz, Justin Olsen)
Germany (Andre Lange, Kevin Kuske, Alexander Rodiger, Martin Putze)
Canada (Lyndon Rush, David Bissett, Lascelles Brown, Chris le Bihan)