This year more people watched the Olympics than American Idol. I loved watching the

U.S.A bobsledding team going at speeds up to 90 mph. It is a fun and exciting sport that puts

you on the edge of your seat.

Bobsledding is a sport with 2 or 4 people for men and 2 people for women. In the beginning

of the the sport they run really fast pushing the bobsled, and then tightly squeeze together and

bend down to get better efficiency so they go faster. The front person controls the bobsled, he

is the one in control making sure he does't hit the sides and turns the curves right to get max

speed.

Bobsledding goes back to the mid-19 century or about 150 years ago. It started as tourists

riding the ice frozen roads of the Alps in a toboggan. The sleds changed a lot over the years.

One of the changes made is the conversion from wood to fiberglass. Also, the shape of the

bobsled changed to make it more aerodynamic to help it go faster. In addition, there have

been improvements in the outfits by making them tighter and the helmets to make them more

curvier for aerodynamic improvements.

Training is hard for the bobsledding team. They have to do 2-3 runs everyday. They also have

to stay in shape by lifting weights so that they are able to push the bobsled. It takes a lot of

strength to be on the bobsledding team.

I'm sure we will see bobsledding in future Olympic games. This year, Germany came in first

for the most medals received in bobsledding. Canada came in second and the United States

came in third. I hope that the United States will be first next time.