Fountain To Try Bobsled

[18.99s]

Is there another sport where you can go from having zero experience to getting a berth on an Olympic squad in three weeks?

It took them years to develop the athletic ability to get there.

If a World's Strongest Man contestant makes his country's Olympic team in the shot put after 3 weeks of shot-specific training, it didn't take him just 3 weeks to get there either.

[jazzcyclist]

Is there another sport where you can go from having zero experience to getting a berth on an Olympic squad in three weeks?

It took them years to develop the athletic ability to get there.

If a World's Strongest Man contestant makes his country's Olympic team in the shot put after 3 weeks of shot-specific training, it didn't take him just 3 weeks to get there either.

I doubt very seriously that a person with no shot put experience could make the U.S. Olympic shot put team with just three weeks of training regardless of what their athletic background is, and the same goes with basketball players trying to make the high jump team, wide recievers trying to make the 100 team and baseball pitchers trying to make the javelin team. Obviously, there are many athletes in other sports who possess the innate ability to make the Olympic team in a variety of track and field events, but all the events are too technique dependent for someone to make the team after only three weeks of training.

[18.99s]

I doubt very seriously that a person with no shot put experience could make the U.S. Olympic shot put team with just three weeks of training regardless of what their athletic background is...

Notice that I didn't say the US shot put team.

And this is not about making the actual Olympic team, it's making a larger squad from which the Olympic team will be selected. I think it would be feasible for a top WSM guy to throw 65 feet after 3 weeks of shot-specific training, especially one with a serious Olympic weightlifting background, and doing that well after just 3 weeks may be enough to convince the coach to include him in the group of six (or whatever) to train over the next 16 months for the Olympic team.

[jazzcyclist]

I doubt very seriously that a person with no shot put experience could make the U.S. Olympic shot put team with just three weeks of training regardless of what their athletic background is...

Notice that I didn't say the US shot put team.

And this is not about making the actual Olympic team, it's making a larger squad from which the Olympic team will be selected. I think it would be feasible for a top WSM guy to throw 65 feet after 3 weeks of shot-specific training, especially one with a serious Olympic weightlifting background, and doing that well after just 3 weeks may be enough to convince the coach to include him in the group of six (or whatever) to train over the next 16 months for the Olympic team.

Here are your words:

makes his country's Olympic team in the shot put

I assumed you were talking about making the team in a country with some depth like the U.S., which sends three A qualifiers to the Olympics. If you're saying that a person with no shot put background who's from some small country that doesn't have a trials could be selected to represent his country, that's not saying much IMO. Not only would he not have to make the A standard, he might not even have to make the B standard, based on the credentials of some of the people who were allowed to compete in London. The difference between your scenario and what I'm talking about is that the U.S. is supposed to be one of the world's deepest bobsled countries.

[26mi235]

For most WSM contestants it would take a lot longer because they would have to be subject to testing for long enough to pass muster, and I am afraid that many of them would not. Have you noticed how widespread testing is in this competition?

[26mi235]

Lolo's sled gets Silver at Lake Placid in international meet. Start gave them a big lead.

See link on Home Page

[guru]

Lolo's sled gets Silver at Lake Placid in international meet. Start gave them a big lead.

Not really. Jones and Fenlator were 5th overall off the block at Lake Placid. Fenlator's driving rallied them to 2nd.

[guru]

More terrific start work by Aja Evans(partnered this week with Elena Meyers) at the Park City WC, easily blasting the fastest starts of the day(5.10, 5.13). Next best was the Canadian overall winners at 5.23 & 5.24. Indeed, Evans' starts are beginning to creep into mens territory, with the majority of the male starts in the mid-4.9 range.

Impressive stuff.

http://utaholympiclegacy.com/system/dow ... 1353124398


Really looking forward to seeing Evans in the sled with Jazmine Fenlator.

[18.99s]

More terrific start work by Aja Evans(partnered this week with Elena Meyers) at the Park City WC, easily blasting the fastest starts of the day(5.10, 5.13). Next best was the Canadian overall winners at 5.23 & 5.24. Indeed, Evans' starts are beginning to creep into mens territory, with the majority of the male starts in the mid-4.9 range.

The men push a heavier sled (min. weight 384 lbs vs. 284 for the women), so you can't compare times across sexes.

[gh]

Is there another sport where you can go from having zero experience to getting a berth on an Olympic squad in three weeks?

I'm sure bambam can cite you chapter & verse, but as I recall there is still a medal that went unawarded in Paris in '00 (I think). That's because nobody knows who the cox was on one of the boats. At the last minute a team needed somebody, so they picked some young kid out of the crowd. And after the competition he was gone and nobody knew who he was.

bam, that ringing true?

[Per Andersen]

Can't be many sports though. Synchronized Diving maybe and Ski-Cross since that event is populated mainly by skiers who can't hack it in Alpine skiing.

[aquille]

The men push a heavier sled (min. weight 384 lbs vs. 284 for the women), so you can't compare times across sexes.

That's not correct. The men's and women's two-person sleds are both a minimum of 170 kg. The commentators discussed that during this week's race.

US really should have had a sled on the podium this week but Meyers had a disastrous second run and one of the German sleds had a great ride to move up to third.

[guru]

The men's and women's two-person sleds are both a minimum of 170 kg. The commentators discussed that during this week's race.

Right. Same for both.


http://www.olympic.org/bobsleigh-equipment-and-history

[18.99s]

The men push a heavier sled (min. weight 384 lbs vs. 284 for the women), so you can't compare times across sexes.

That's not correct. The men's and women's two-person sleds are both a minimum of 170 kg. The commentators discussed that during this week's race.

So either they changed the rules, or the link I posted earlier in the thread is wrong. That would also mean Teamusa.org is wrong, and they're apparently run by the USOC based on the copyright notice at the bottom of the page.
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-and- ... ports.aspx

Each division requires a different weight for the sled. Two-man sleds weigh a minimum of 384 lbs for men and 284 lbs for women, while a four-man sled is at minimum 462 lbs.

[decafan]

Minimum weight allowances are fairly meaningless. They exist only for safety reasons. Teams try very hard to match the maximum allowances because this is a gravity sport and terminal velocity matters a great deal.
The FIBT website lists Minimum Weight Allowances (sled + runners and without crew) at:
Two-person sleds: 170Kg
Four person sleds: 210Kg

Maximum Weight Allowances (sled + runners with crew and other equipment) at:
Men's two-man: 390Kg
Men's four-man: 630Kg
Women's two-person: 340Kg

This means the difference between the men's and women's two person sled is approx. 100lbs. BUT, most of that weight can be attributed to the weight difference in the two athletes by gender, thus making the start times between the genders pretty much apples to apples. Bottom line; Aja is indeed a beast.

[eroszag]

Manwhile, LOLO posted the 2 fastes push times in Canada last week.
Paired with Elana Meyers, they got a 10th overall place, a bit of a disappointment, but the push times were very impressive, the best in both legs.

[guru]

While the start record by Jones and Meyers was impressive, it's worth noting that Aja Evans wasn't in a sled this week(Madison sat out as well).

[decafan]

While the start record by Jones and Meyers was impressive, it's worth noting that Aja Evans wasn't in a sled this week(Madison sat out as well).

Guru, I'm not sure why you feel the need to footnote Jones when she does well. Fact; she and Meyers tied the start record. As in; ties the fastest start time EVER on that track, set by 2010 Gold medalists, Humphries and Moyse. This should put Jones' talent and potential into perspective. This must be very upsetting to someone who roots against her as hard as you do.

[guru]

This must be very upsetting to someone who roots against her as hard as you do.

Friend, I don't root against ANYONE. And while I may not understand the cult of personality that surrounds Jones, and view her bent for Canadian medical expertise with narrowed eyes, I wish her all the best, as I do all of members of humanity.

I am sorry that my stating facts causes you such distress.

[jazzcyclist]

This must be very upsetting to someone who roots against her as hard as you do.

Friend, I don't root against ANYONE. . . . . . , I wish her all the best, as I do all of members of humanity.

[decafan]

Friend, I don't root against ANYONE. And while I may not understand the cult of personality that surrounds Jones, and view her bent for Canadian medical expertise with narrowed eyes, I wish her all the best, as I do all of members of humanity.

Dear Guru,
If what you are saying is true, I owe you a sincere apology. I had no idea I was in the cyber-presence of such rare greatness. I met the Dalai Lama once a couple of years ago. I have that same awe-inspired feeling of humility now with you. You root for everybody. No favorites, no rivals. Just GO HUMANITY from you. And what seemed like disgusting, petty, Lolo hating from you was in fact, me projecting my own small-minded thinking upon the situation. You root for everyone. Of course, in the zero-sum games of athletic competition, rooting for everyone is actually rooting for no one... Semantics. You have found your high self. I am still looking for mine.
Namaste, Guru. Namaste

[guru]

While the start record by Jones and Meyers was impressive, it's worth noting that Aja Evans wasn't in a sled this week(Madison sat out as well).

Guru, I'm not sure why you feel the need to footnote Jones when she does well.

And yet, footnote is exactly what YOU did when the Evans and Madison teams handily beat Jones/Fenlator off the blocks at Lake Placid.

It's not really possible to get an apples to apples comparison on those start times. Remember, the driver also pushes. Fenlater is the slowest pusher of the drivers. Meyers is the fastest.

And as YOU said, Meyers is the fastest of the drivers.

[guru]

By the way, here are the drivers results from the push championships.

http://www.teamusa.org/~/media/USA_Bobs ... 0Women.pdf


Order Name Heat I Heat II TOTAL
1 Elana Meyers 4.74 4.77 9.51
2 Jamie Greubel 4.90 4.90 9.80
3 Jazmine Fenlator 5.00 4.95 9.95
4 Megan Hill 5.16 5.17 10.33
5 Katelyn Kelly 5.16 5.19 10.35
6 Nicole Vogt 5.17 5.23 10.40
7 Berit Tomten 5.30 5.34 10.64

[LopenUupunut]

Pittman to also try bobsled:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-05/p ... tion=sport

[Per Andersen]

Pittman to also try bobsled:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-05/p ... tion=sport

Well, who isn't?
Imagine if we read this: "Pickering switches to speed skating". That would have been something.

[aquille]

Evans pushed for Fenlator this week and they tied for the third-best start time across the two legs, pretty good considering that Fenlator is the weakest pusher of the three US drivers. Meyers/Eberling came away with the track-record start and finished second after two good rides.

Jones and Madison pushed for Meyers and Fenlator respectively in the team event, where each team gets one run on bobsled and skeleton of each gender. Meyers/Jones had the second-best start out of eight sleds while Fenlator/Madison were fourth.

CAN1 has won all for World Cup races so far--their rookie brakewoman Chelsea Valois was the 2011 CIS pentathlon champion and competed in the heptathlon at the Canadian trials earlier this year.

[guru]

Guru is full of it. She has a real chance to make that team. As does Tianna. Aja is a lock unless she bails out or gets hurt. Three sleds, three drivers, three breakmen.

Vets Azevedo and Eberling are almost guaranteed slots for 2014, which leaves one seat open(assuming the US qualifies three sleds).

You are half right. One vet is a lock for a slot, one is definitely not.

Azevedo and Eberling push to 2nd and 3rd place finishes at La Plagne World Cup. Jones/Fenlator 8th


http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-and- ... d-Cup.aspx

[guru]

Aja Evans grabs first World Cup medal, teaming with driver Jazmine Fenlator for bronze at Igls, Austria. A razor-thin .01 out of silver, and .05 from gold.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-and- ... -Igls.aspx

[guru]

Azevedo, Eberling and Evans three brakemen named to World Championships team.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-and- ... oritz.aspx

[aquille]

Meyers/Eberling finished second after an exciting race that saw second through sixth place separated by just 0.17 seconds after four runs. Fenlator/Evans had good starts but only two good drives, finishing eighth. Greubel/Azevedo struggled to fifteenth, the worst finish for an American sled this year.

The season is not quite over as they go to Sochi for the Olympic test event in two weeks. Overall it's been very encouraging for the US.

[aquille]

Meyers/Evans finish second in the season's final event on the Olympic track in Sochi, putting down the fastest time on a second run where the track seemed to degrade and some of the other top competitors were well off the pace.