#1 Most Important Moment in Sports for 2014: Women Drivers, It’s No Joke — 4-man Bobsled Goes Gender Neutral

REAL SPORTS Most Important Moments in Sports 2014 edition

It might become necessary to come up with a new name for four-man bobsledding. It was introduced into the Olympics in 1924, and the two-man event followed in 1932. It wasn’t until 2002 that the two-woman event entered the Olympics. In the four-man cars, the drivers have always been men.

A first for 4-man bobsledding. Announcer says: "Let's Go Lady and Gentlemen..."

Video courtesy: Elana Meyers Taylor, USA Bobsled and Skeleton
Video Compilation: Steve Douglass

Fast-forward to 2014, and the sport’s governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT), announced that women will be allowed to drive four-member sleds. The FIBT calls this new configuration “pilots and push athletes.” This theoretically allows female drivers to compete against male drivers without losing the advantage of the strength and the weight of the of the push athletes. Thus four-man bobsledding – which the FIBT refers to as bobsleighing – is now gender neutral.

Photo courtesy: Elana Meyers Taylor, USA Bobsled and Skeleton 

At the North American Cup in Park City, Utah, in mid-November, this new configuration was used with female pilots. Former Olympic two-woman champion Kaillie Humphries piloted the Canadian four-seat bobsled to a sixth-place finish, and Sochi Games silver-medalist Elana Meyers Taylor was seventh in the U.S. sled. At the North American Cup held on November 23, 2014 in Calgary, Meyers Taylor and her teammates, Dustin Greenwood, Adrian Adams and Carlo Valdes, improved their performances and won two medals, a silver and a bronze.

Elana Meyers Taylor, Dustin Greenwood, Adrian Adams and Carlo Valdes
celebrate their silver medal performance
Photo courtesy: Elana Meyers Taylor, USA Bobsled and Skeleton

Meyers Taylor and Humphries probably will be the only women to compete in this year’s World Cup competitions. Although there is no shortage of women who want to drive four-seaters, there is insufficient time to develop resumes for 2015 cup events. A set number of lower-tier races is required before being allowed to enter World Cup events, and Meyers Taylor and Humphries plan to fulfill the requirements by racing in Canada and France.

So as we embrace a winter wonderland in the northern hemisphere this year, girls and boys all over can jointly embrace sledding and can dream of teaming together for Olympic gold. [RS]