Two, Men

Shortly before the competition began allegations of sabotage against one of the American bobs reached the newspapers. The sled had been left overnight in a garage and was found badly damaged in the morning. Though the press cried foul it was eventually discovered to be the result of a clumsy parking manoeuvre rather than anything sinister.

When the event began it became apparent that the two Swiss bobs were in a class of their own. Having placed 1-2 when the World Championships visited the same track the previous winter it became a simple matter of whether the relative youngster Felix Endrich could overcome the 39-year old veteran of the Garmisch Olympics, Fritz Feierabend, pilot of the 1947 World Champion sled.

The gold medal was decided on the first day on competition when Endrich’s team built up a lead of over two and a half seconds. Feierabend closed the gap on second day but the damage was already done and Endrich and brakeman Fritz Waller were crowned as champions.The battle for the bronze medal was also closely contested but was decided in favour of the number two USA team ahead of Belgium.

Lake Placid funeral director Tuffield Latour piloted the USA I bob in Sankt-Moritz and fifty-four years later his grandson, also named Tuffield and a former bobsleigh pilot himself, coached the winning American sled in the inaugural Olympic women’s event.

Fritz Feierabend was the builder of most of the championship sleds used in the late 1940s and early 50s.