On the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games we spoke to Canada’s 1996 Olympic 4x100 gold medallist and international bobsledder Glenroy Gilbert on track and field’s long-term relationship with the high-speed ice sport.
How did you get involved in bobsleigh?
GG: The indoor season of 1994 was coming up and I decided to take a break from track, because I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. A friend of mine, Sheridan Baptiste, was bobsledding for the Canadian team and he asked me if I wanted to try it. I said ‘sure,’ but a lot of people thought it was the dumbest thing I could do.
Was it a difficult switch to make?
GG: Let me put it this way. It was a lot more difficult than I thought.
A host of track and field athletes have given bobsleigh a go. Why are track and field athletes so well suited to bobsleigh?
GG: It is because of the starting environment in the bob. The first 30-40-50m involves pushing at speed, which is a sprinter’s forte.
What were some of the biggest difficulties you had to overcome?
GG: The weather. I switched from a summer to a winter sport and also the amount of maintenance work on the bob. You are carrying it (the bob) around and had to do a lot of work on the runners. The training wasn’t an issue for me. It was more the time spent outside in the cold and handling the bobsled. What was also very different was learning the different courses and loading into (the bob) properly.
What about the sheer terror of bobsleigh?
GG: I never got past that until probably
Lillehammer (the 1994 Winter Olympics), so
for about five months I was just scared straight. The first time I went down the run I thought I was going to die. In the end I started having a lot of fun with it and realised it is not as terrifying as you think, especially with an accomplished driver.
How did you do in Lillehammer?
GG: I was 15th in the two-man bob and 11th in the four-man. I remember the Jamaican four-man bob ended up beating us. I get a kick out of that.
What is the tougher event; the two-man or four-man bob?
GG: The two-man is not quite as fast or as rugged a ride. It doesn’t beat you up as much. The four-man beats you up, especially when you are the brakeman. You are thrown around pretty good. It is tougher physically and there is more work involved in terms of loading up the sled and being in synch (with the rest of the team).
After competing in Lillehammer 1994 were you ever tempted to re-start bob again?
GG: As much as I enjoyed it and met some really good people it was such a departure from what I was used to as a track athlete. They (the bobsledders) just didn’t have the same kind of focus. There wasn’t the same kind of requirement to being really good at you craft.
What was your biggest bobsleigh achievement?
GG: Making the (Olympic) Games was a huge accomplishment for me, but we also won a couple of World Cups.
Would you encourage other sprinters to make the same switch?
GG: If you are looking for a challenge and to experience the other side of the Olympic Games, it is truly remarkable. Also don’t fear that you won’t be able to get back to running. It is funny that after I come back from bobsleigh, I ran my personal bests. They really complement each other.
Who would make the best sprinter for bobsleigh?
GG: Asafa (Powell) would be good. What people have to understand is it is not necessarily the speed of the sprinter that makes them good. It is a combination of size and sheer ability to apply force.
What was the bigger high, the Winter or the Summer Olympics?
GG: The Winter Olympics are a lot more intimate. A lot more friendships and relationships are built. I had a great time and I would not trade the experience for anything. Of course, I always have to go back to winning the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta as the highlight of my career.
Other former track and field athletes likely to feature in Vancouver
- Allyn Condon, the former World Indoor 200m finalists, competes in the four-man British bobsleigh team. Meanwhile, British women’s bobsledder Nicola Minichiello was a former heptathlete and her brakewoman Gillian Cooke represented Scotland in both pole vault and long jump. Their 2006 Olympic skeleton bob silver medallist Shelley Rudman was a former 400m sprinter.
- The US Winter Olympic team is similarly laden with track and field talent. Bobsledders Steve Langton and Chris Fogt were former sprinters and Steve Mesler comes from a decathlon background. Noelle Pikus-Pace features in the skeleton and is a former NJCAA discus champion.
- Canada, the host nation, has a couple of track and field athletes in the bobsleigh squad. David Bissett was a former 60m sprinter and Shelly-Ann Brown a former All-American sprint-hurdler.
- Australia's Cecilia McIntosh, who competes in the bobsleigh is a former 58m javelin thrower and Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
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