After the 2014 Winter Olympics, public interest in bobsleigh has grown more than ever. The athletes of the Russian national team performed at these competitions simply brilliantly, which is partly the reason for the close attention that spectators are now showing to this particular sport. Many of them are wondering how the bean is controlled, which rushes at high speed in an ice chute.
One of the most popular disciplines among spectators at the Winter Olympics is bobsleigh. This sport is a downhill skiing along an artificially created ice-covered chute on a special controlled sleigh - a bob - a team of two or four people. Bobsleigh is one of the fastest, most spectacular and at the same time traumatic sports in the Winter Games program. How does the pilot control the bob, passing bends of the track at high speed?
How does a bob sled work and what are the responsibilities of a crew member?
At the dawn of the formation of bobsleigh as an independent sport, sledges were made of wood. Subsequently, aluminum and fiberglass were used to make the body of the bob. The modern bob has a body made of Kevlar - a heavy-duty material that has proven itself in the design of body armor. The bob's chassis is made of extra strong steel. The weight of an empty two-seater sled is about 165 kg with a length of slightly less than 3 meters, and the weight of a four-seater sled is already about 230 kg with a length of 3.8 m.
The team captain in bobsled is the helmsman pilot, from whose precise actions the safety of all team members. The pushers - the athletic heavyweight athletes - are responsible for a good set of speed by the bob when accelerating at the top of the track. Finally, the braking one is located in the tail of the sled body and is responsible for stopping them in a timely manner.
How is a bobsled sled being operated?
The bob design assumes that it has a controlled front axle while the rear axle is stationary. The front runners are connected with special rings held by the bob pilot with the help of heavy-duty flexible rods. Applying certain efforts, through these rings, he activates the steering mechanism of the sled, which allows them to fit into the bends as accurately as possible and pass them at high speed.
The accelerators practically do not take part in the process of controlling the bob while driving - they perform only the function of making the sleigh heavier, grouping as much as possible in order to reduce air resistance and deviating in the right direction during the bends. Braking at the right moment activates the brake mechanism, which is located between the front and rear axles and resembles a huge metal comb. Of course, the athletes' skills in controlling the bob are honed to the point of automatism, which allows them to demonstrate such impressive results in competitions.