Lobanova Elena Alexandrovna, English teacher ofUst-Ilimsk secondary school №15, Irkutsk region

the presentation contest “Sports in Russia”

AlexanderZubkov

a Russian bobsled pilot

History of the bobsleigh

Bobsleigh in Russia

AlexanderZubkov

Bobsleigh

History of the bobsleighA sleigh or a sled is an equipment for riding down the mountains. People who lived in the Alps (in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France) used to go down from the high places to their villages. They have been doing it for many years.

In 1888, a British tourist got an idea to use two sleighs and a board between them to ride down from Saint-Moritz to the next village. So he invented a bobsleigh or a bobsled. In 1897, the first bobsleigh club was organised in this Swiss town.

From the end of 19th century to the early 20th century, the rules were written, the natural snow tracks were made in Switzerland, Austria, France, and many competitions were held there. Firstly, the bobsleigh crew had 5 persons – 3 men and 2 women, later only 2 or 4 men.

In 1902, a first special track or ‘bobrun’ was created in San-Moritz, Switzerland. Now, this town is a popular bobsleigh center. Many sportsmen came to train here. The track length is 1722m, there’re 14 curves, the level difference is 130m and the maximum slope is 15%.

In 1923, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (FIBT) was founded and the following year a four-man race took place at the first ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The first gold champions were the Swiss (on the upper photo, 1924).

The first bobsleds were made of wood. Today, they are made of plastic, aluminium, kevlar with using the advantages of the modern technology and science. Bobsleds can go with high speed - over 150 km an hour. Bobsledding is a very fast and dangerous winter sport.

To start the ride, the bobsled is pushed down the bobrun. The team members then jump on. The bobrun is constructed with sharp bends and high walls. The bobsled is steered with a rope or a wheel. A pilot or a driver must have a good reaction and be very confident and quickly.

Bobsleigh in RussiaIn the USSR, bobsleigh was not popular. Only in 1980, the national federation of bobsleigh & skeleton appeared and entered the FIBT. The first bobsledding track was constructed in Sigulda, Latvia. The track length here is 1200m, there are 16 curves, the level difference is 121m and the max. slope is 15%.

Zintis Ekmanis and Vladimir Alexandrov won the Bronze medal for two-men bobsleigh in 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Yanis Kipurs and Vladimir Kozlov won the Gold medal for two-men bobsleigh in 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada.

The new stage of Russian bobsledding began in 2003, when Russian sportsmen won some important competitions. Before 2014 Winter Games, a lot of things have been done for Russian bobsleigh in Sochi.

Alexander Zubkov

Date of birth: 10/08/1974Place of birth: Bratsk, Irkutsk region, RussiaSport: BobsleighPosition: PilotHeight: 187cmWeight: 105 kgCoaches: Koloedov P., Mysev V., Zubkova T.Team: member of the Russian national team since 1999

He started his sport career as a tobogganer when he was at 10. He took part in 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and was the 20th. In 1999, he decided to bobsled. After a year, he took the 3rd place in World Bobsleigh Championship, the 2nd place for two-men and the 1st for four-men in Russian Championship.

Alexander took the 16th place for four-men and the 18th place for two-men in 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, USA. During the following 4 years he won some world bobsleigh competitions. In 2005, he was declared as the best athlete of the year in the Irkutsk region.

Alexander Zubkov as a pilot and Filipp Egorov, Alexei Seleverstov, Alexei Voevoda won the Silver medal for four-men race in 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

Alexander Zubkov and Alexei Voevoda won the Bronze medal for two-men race in 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. The President D.A. Medvedev honored them the Fatherland medal for the sport results in the Kremlin, Moscow.

Alexander Zubkov and Alexei Voevoda won a Gold medal for two-men race at the 2011 World Championship. It happened at the first time in the Russian bobsleigh history. This event gave the impulse for the development of bobsleigh in our country.

Alexander Zubkov and his crew won three series of four-men races at the FIBT World Cup 2012-2013. You can see the highlights of the serie 3 for 4-man Bobsled in Whistler, Canada, November 24, 2012. Watch here!

Alexander Zubkov is married and has two daughters. His hobby is watching ice hockey.He is the Honorary citizen of Bratsk. Unfortunately, there is not a bobsleigh track in Bratsk, that’s why he has to train in Sigulda, Latvia, or in Paramonovo, Moscow region.

Alexander Zubkov is a representer of Irkutsk region at many international contests. People who live in our area are proud of his sports results and wish him the wins in the future Olympics. He is planning to finish his sport career after the Winter Games in Sochi 2014.