Bobsledding and the closely related sport of skeleton originated in the Swiss village of St. Moritz in the late nineteenth century. In early competitions, sledders raced down the road to Celerina, where the winners received a bottle of champagne. Bobsled has been part of Olympic competition since the first Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924. The 2006 event will take place in Cesana Pariol. Bobsled races begin with team members pushing together to achieve maximum speed. Everyone then leaps in, and the pilot controls the trajectory into the curves and through the straights reaching speeds of 80 mph over the ice. Olympic competition consists of three events: Men and women compete in two person teams and skeleton events. Men also compete in fourman. Womens competition consists of two runs completed on the same day; men complete two runs on each of two days. The objective for both men and women is to achieve the lowest aggregate time. If teams tie, they are awarded the same place.

Website: http://www.sirlinksalot.net/bobsled.html