Bobsleigh at the 1988 Winter Olympics

The bobsleigh events at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games are the most famous in Olympic history although for unusual reasons. It marked the first appearance in Olympic competition of a host of new nations and some were amongst the most unlikely to provide winter sportsmen. In the Jamaican team these games created one of the great Olympic underdog stories which was immortalized, though with many liberties taken with the truth, in a Hollywood blockbuster.

At the top of the leader board these games marked the end of the era of East German invincibility. They still ended with a medal haul of two silvers and a bronze but this was the only time in their brief Olympic history when they failed to snag an Olympic title. The titles were instead shared between an emerging power in the sport in the Soviet Union and the traditional powerhouse of Switzerland.

The Calgary bob run was made of reinforced concrete and was 1475 m in length with 14 curves with an average gradient of 8%. Since its’ construction it has remained a regular stopover on the World Cup circuit.