When you think of bobsleigh today, you think of a bullet-like sled zipping down an icy track. The icy track’s always been there, but the type of sled that was at the first Winter Olympics in 1924 was much, much different.
Bobsleigh (or bobsled, as we say here in America) first appeared on the scene in 1898 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. By 1924, the sport was still new and not well organized. The International Federation for Bobsleigh and Tobogganing (FITB) was founded in November 1923 only a few months before the Olympic races. According to the history section of the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, the present-day child of the FITB, bobsleigh racers did not train or practice. The sport was a favorite of rich adventurers who liked to “gather at alpine resorts for weekends of competition and partying.”
At Chamonix 1924, 11 teams from six countries signed up for the competition. Races ran over two days, February 2-3, at the Piste de Bobsleigh des Pelerins. Unlike today’s Olympic competitions that have 2-man and 4-man events, the first Olympic competition had just one option: The four/five-man race. Although you’d think that the five-man would be more popular because heavier sleds move faster, just two of the 11 teams included five racers. Surprisingly though, the U.S. didn’t send a sled to Chamonix, the one Games that it didn’t have a bobsled team.
Another big difference from today’s races is how organizers built the track. Most bobsled tracks today have refrigeration systems that keep the track icy. St. Moritz, Switzerland is a noticeable difference, as it’s a natural track that’s carved out of snow every season. Chamonix had a similar man-made track that was just a touch more dangerous because it had stone walls.
As mentioned above, sleds in 1924 were also very different than today’s fiberglass creations. At Chamonix, competitors raced in sleds that had open frames with steering wheels or ropes. If you crashed, you had nothing to protect you. Obtaining a sled was also a different process– Swiss driver, Eduard Scherrer won his sled, nicknamed Acrobate, in a raffle.
Racers also dressed differently. Today’s racers wear skintight suits usually made with Lycra. But Lycra was invented in 1958, so our 1924 Olympians couldn’t take advantage of its benefits. Instead they wore sweaters and woolly hats–also scant protection against the race course.
The bobsleigh competitors were a motley bunch, including Swiss driver Charley Stoffel, an accomplished equestrian who would compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris later that year, as well as the Amsterdam Summer Olympics in 1928. Several bobsledders competed in other sports, even multiple events in Chamonix.
This competition also featured perhaps the most interesting man at the Olympics, That French sled included the most interesting man in the competition, Frenchman Marie Quenin Félix Ghislain Foulques Jean de la Croix Harouard de Suarez d’Aulan, known as Jean, Marquis de Suarez d’Aulan. Like most gentlemen here, Jean came from considerable wealth, due to a hefty inheritance. Not only was he a three-time Olympian, Jean also was a champion swimmer and diver, raced at Le Mans, and flew in air rallies across Europe and North Africa. During World War II, he harbored weapons for the resistance and became a renowned fighter pilot.
When it came down to the actual competition, the racers had a lot of trouble navigating the course, with multiple crashes on the first day of competition that took out several of the sleds. Another sled couldn’t even start the race….and Hungary, for mysterious reasons, never even showed up.
Who managed to keep their sled steady and navigate to get the gold? Check out our episode for the full details!
–Alison Brown, with Jill Jaracz