The practice of bobsleigh in Romania dates back to around 1909,[2] when sporting activity was limited to a few days a year, around the winter holidays; from 1910 "winter sports competitions" were organised, with modest participation. Until 1916, bobsleigh races were regularly held in Sinaia, along with sledging and skeleton races, but without precise rules. The first winner of a bobsleigh race in 1910 was N. Filiti, and the first winner of a multi-team race was a generic "Romanian Sports Club" (Cercul Sportiv Român). In 1911, the presence of women in bobsleighing was very active: competitions were organised in three events (two-woman bobsleigh, two-man bobsleigh and team competition of 2-5-6 persons), whose winners included Natalia Darvari (women), Jean Costinescu (men) and the mixed crew of the "Societatea Săniutza". In 1912, the competition programme was the same: in the women's category Mihaela Ghyka won, and in the men's category a (male) crew led by Mihaela Ghyka herself won.[3]
In 1912, the Federation of Romanian Sports Societies (Federației Societăților de Sport din România - FSSR) was founded, within which a Winter Sports Commission was established, with the task of coordinating and promoting the practice of bobsleigh. In 1914, for the first time, a national inter-school bobsleigh competition was organised, which was won by the "Gh. Lazăr" High School in Bucharest. Also in 1914, a team of German tourists participated in the "National bobsleigh competition", coming third, while the competition was won by the team from the Evangelical School of Bucharest.[3]
After World War I, bobbing activity was resumed from 1920, in localities such as Brașov, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Slatina, and Iași. Bobsledding was generally practised along mountain roads and on the ski slopes of Postăvaru and Poiana Brașov. In 1922, the first national winter sports championships were held: the bobsled championship was held in Sinaia, with the title in the "club teams" event going to the Râmnicu Vâlcea Centre, whose driver was Iorgu Arsenie. The rise of the bobsleigh began in 1923, when several competitions with prizes were held: the title of national champion went to the team of the Club "Colțea" from Bucharest. In 1924, the crew of the "Societatea Politehnica București" won.[3]
International activity
The organisation of the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) aroused the interest of Romanian bobbists, but the lack of state funds to support participation in the Olympics was widely discussed in the press at the time. Iorgu Arsenie built a bobsleigh christened Avalanșa (avalanche) and together with Tita Rădulescu reached Chamonix, where they participated in the races with a borrowed bobsleigh (Bachmann type) and won three cups; however, they were unable to participate in the Olympic competition because the rules required the entire crew to be from the same country, a condition they were unable to meet. Iorgu Arsenie, as a representative of the Commission for the Constitution of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) in Chamonix in 1924, obtained Romania's affiliation to this international sporting body.[3]
In 1925, the first bobsled track was built in Sinaia according to the design of engineer Sângiorzan, on a western slope of the Furnica hill, with a length of 2,100 m and ten curves. The first bobsleighs were made of wood with an iron bottom, were guided by ropes or a steering wheel and had 2, 4, 5 or 6 seats. At the national bobsleigh championship in 1927 in Sinaia, the student crew of brothers Grigore and Mircea Socolescu and major Mihai Mihail from Slatina distinguished themselves; on this occasion, a cup for "the most daring and skilful bobsleigh" was awarded to 21-year-old Alexandru Papană, who would dominate the bobsleigh races in the following years. The recognition of his skill was confirmed in 1928, when, together with Dumitru Hubert, they won the title of national champions in the two-man race. The "Aeronautica" club (to which the two competitors belonged) had two crews: Alexandru Papană (driver), Alexandru Ionescu, Tiberiu Stătescu, Puffi Popescu, Gheorghe Moțoi (brakeman). From these, the bobsledders who would bring fame to Romanian sport would be selected later.[3]
Performances in 1926-1928 stimulated interest and led to the presence of the Romanian five-man bobsleigh at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, although the expenses were borne by the athletes from their own savings. The Romanian crew finished in a commendable 7th place, 4.3 seconds behind the champions.[3]
The first famous Romanian bobber was Alexandru Papană, national bobsleigh champion in 1928 and 1931 and winner of the FIBT World Championships 1933 in Schreiberhau, Germany (now Szklarska Poręba, Poland), along with Dumitru Hubert.[4] The Romanian crew used ropes instead of a steering wheel and made a "flying start" (one of the first at the time), for which they had patented a special push handle on the bobsleigh.
The FIBT World Championships 1934 saw the domination of Romania, who won the gold medal in the four-man bobsleigh and gold and bronze medals in the two-man bobsleigh. In November 1934, the Romanian Bobsleigh Federation was formed, however, despite the organisational development, the series of successes was interrupted: the participation in the FIBT World Championships 1935 in St. Moritz (Switzerland), with a 2-man bobsleigh crew, piloted by Papană and two 4-person bobsleigh crews, piloted by Papană and Frim, ended in failure.[3]
In 1951, a 1,640-1,530 m long bobsleigh track was built in Poiana Brașov for the organisation of the World University Games.[3]
The first Olympic medal
From 1966, Romanian bobsleigh made a comeback on the international scene, thanks to Ion Panțuru. At the FIBT World Championships 1966, Ion Panțuru and Nicolae Neagoe came 5th in the two-man bobsleigh race, and at the European Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the same team came 6th. In 1967, at the European Championships in Igls (Austria), the four-man bobsleigh team (Ion Panțuru, Gheorghe Maftei, Petre Hristovici, and Nicolae Neagoe) won the gold medal and the title of European champion. In the two-man bobsleigh, the Panțuru-Neagoe pair came second.[3]
At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the Romanian selection won a historic bronze medal with the two-man bobsleigh led by Ion Panțuru and Nicolae Neagoe, which is the only Olympic medal won in the history of Romania at the Winter Olympics so far. In the same edition, the Romanian four-man bobsleigh finished fourth, touching the bronze medal by just one hundredth of a second.[5] In the 1969 European bobsleigh championships, the Romanian four-man bobsleigh team finished fourth.
After 1970, a modern concrete track was built in Sinaia, which entered the circuit of international competitions, organizing the annual "Carpathian Trophy" (Trofeul Carpați).[3]
At the 1970 European Championships in Cortina, the Romanian four-man bobsled won the bronze medal, while in Igls 1971 they won the title of European champions.[3]
Romania was designated as the host venue for the 1977 European Bobsleigh Championships, however warm weather melted the snow on the course, preventing the competition from taking place.[3]
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, and the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation.
Romania competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 159 competitors, 132 men and 27 women, took part in 102 events in 16 sports.
Romania competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. The two-man bobsleigh team of Nicolae Neagoe and Ion Panţuru won the nation's first medal at the Winter Games, a bronze. As of the 2018 games, they remain Romania's only Winter Olympic medalists.
Paul Aste was an Austrian bobsledder and luger who competed during the 1950s and the 1960s. He also took the Olympic Oath for athletes at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Max Houben was a versatile Belgian athlete who competed from the early 1920s until his death at the 1949 FIBT World Championships. He won a silver medal in the four-man bobsled event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, and was the oldest medalist at the Winter Olympics until Canadian Russ Howard won a gold medal in men's curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Lorenz Nieberl was a West German bobsledder who competed in the early 1950s. At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, he became the first person to win both the two-man and four-man competitions at the same Winter Olympics. Nieberl also finished sixth in the four-man event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Brian Shimer is an American bobsledder who competed from 1985 to 2002. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002.
Michael Kohn is an American former bobsledder who has competed since 1990. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002 as a push athlete for pilot Brian Shimer.
Ion Panţuru was a Romanian bobsledder. He competed in two-man and four-man events at the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Romania in 1964 and 1972.
Nicolae Neagoe is a Romanian bobsledder who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Ivo Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who competed between 1996 and 2010. He won five medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds, two silvers Two-man: 2007, Mixed team: 2009), and a bronze.
Alexandru "Alex" Papană was a Romanian-American aviator and bobsledder who competed from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
Dumitru Hubert is a Romanian bobsledder and aviator who competed in the 1930s. He won two medals in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 1933 and a bronze in 1934.
Dumitru Focşneanu was a Romanian bobsledder who had his best results as a brakeman with Ion Panțuru. Together they won two medals in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a silver in 1969 and a bronze in 1973.
The FIBT World Championships 2011 took place 14 February – 27 February 2011 in Königssee, Germany, for the fifth time, doing so previously in 1979, 1986, and 1990 (skeleton), and 2004. In 2007, the championships were awarded to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy over Winterberg Germany, but Cortina withdrew in February 2009 to issues with the city of Cortina.
Oskars Melbārdis is a former Latvian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He is the most successful bobsledder in the history of his country, having won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. He also earned the first-ever gold medal for Latvia at World Championships in Igls, preceded by one silver and two bronze medals in 2009-2015.
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian-American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. With her victory in 2014, she became the first female bobsledder to defend her Olympic title and was named flagbearer for the Olympic closing ceremony with brakewoman Heather Moyse.
Elana Meyers Taylor is an American Olympic bobsledder and World Champion who has competed since 2007. Born in Oceanside, California, Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglasville, Georgia and is a graduate of The George Washington University, where she was a member of the softball team.
The four-man bobsleigh competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia, on 26–27 February. The German team of André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, and Martin Putze were the defending Olympic champion in this event. America's team of Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz were the defending world champions in this event. The test event was won by the Latvian team of Jānis Miņins, Daumants Dreiškens, Oskars Melbardis, and Intars Dambis. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games place took place in Igls, Austria on 24 January 2010 and was won by the German team of Lange, Hoppe, Kuske, and Putze. Holcomb of the United States won both the four-man and the combined World Cups.
The Two-man bobsleigh competition at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble was held on 4 and 5 February, at L'Alpe d'Huez. There was a tie for first place. Despite initially ruling that both teams would be awarded the gold medals, the judges awarded the sole gold to the Italian team based on their fastest single heat time. Panturu and Neagoe are the only Romanians to medal at the Winter Olympics as of the 2022 Games.
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