February 28, 2012

Growing up in Lake Placid during the 50's and 60's carried with it some rather weighty obligations in terms of winter sports. Practically everyone learned to ski and figure skate and play hockey at a very early age. For me, I think learning to ski came at about the same time I learned to walk. Later, we'd trudge through the woods from our house to Fawn Ridge Ski Center, about 1/2 a mile away, awkwardly carrying our skis, me dropping them frequently, bringing a five-year-old's tears with it and big brothers scooping me up and keeping me going (if I didn't get there, neither would they!). Winter has always been about getting out and doing the things that made Lake Placid famous in winter. And many times it involved getting ourselves there on our own if we wanted to participate. We just simply didn't question whether or not we'd participate. It was expected - and we loved it!

Another obligation during the winter months was the almost-weekly outing, mostly on Sundays, to Mt. Van Hoevenberg Bobsled Track. Our bobsled heritage in the Adirondacks dates to 1930 when the original mile and a half track was constructed in preparation for the 1932 Olympic Winter Games. It opened on Christmas day, 1930. Most natives of Lake Placid will agree that bobsledding (most spectating and a few participating) was in our blood from birth. Being one of the only "extreme" winter sports in those days, together with ski jumping, the competitions attracted enormous crowds nearly every weekend, which included local club and national competitions. Until the Calgary Olympics in 1988, Lake Placid's was the only bobsled track in North America. To this day there are only 14 tracks in the world sanctioned to hold races by the FIBT (Federation International Bobsleigh et Toboggan, the international federation responsible for world competition).

Fortune_Carron Bobsled
Fred Fortune and Schuyler Carron - Lake Placid Bobsled Club

I remember leaving the bobrun after the 4-man finals of the 1968 World Championships, being utterly amazed at the cars lining both sides of the road on Route 73. The parking lot and both sides of the bobrun road (over a mile long) had been completely filled. Those days of bobsledding were as exciting as anything gets in winter sports competition. I can still hear the voice of Bob McGonnegal calling the races..."zigging.....zagging.....through Zig Zag and approaching Little S...". I wish  a sound clip existed of his voice from those days. I also recall being at the track on February 22, 1966. It was the day Sergio Zardini was killed during competition in Zig Zag, when the Canadian sled he was piloting entered Zag too high and his head was crushed against the lip of the curve. I watched his body carried away from the track on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, all in the crowd knowing he was mortally injured. It was a grim day in Lake Placid, especially for an eleven-year-old witness. It was one of those events one never forgets. Zardini was one of the legends of the sport, having previously won eleven medals in international competition, including a silver in the 1964 Olympics.

This past two weeks Lake Placid hosted the FIBT World Championships for the ninth time since that Christmas day opening

Leader Board 2012 World Bobsled 4-man
Final times for 2012 4-man World Bobsled Championships
in 1930. If you didn't get a chance to watch any competition I feel sorry for you. It is exciting beyond belief and to make it even more exciting, Steve Holcomb, USA #1 two- and four-man pilot, and his team, swept the field by winning gold in both events, with an additional gold in team competition. In all, team USA won five medals (four gold and one bronze) in both skeleton and bobsled during the two weeks of competition - the most ever by a US team at Worlds. A truly sweet victory, especially on home turf. There were huge crowds over the two weeks with near perfect weather. The electricity in the air at the finish line was amazing as Steve Holcomb piloted his Night Train sled to a wide-margined victory for the USA in the 4-man competition on Sunday, February 25. The crowd went wild as they crossed the finish line and the time on the clock showed a margin of a whopping half a second (usually bobsled competitions are decided by hundredths of a second - actually, at the end of the second heat on Saturday, the margin separating 1st and 2nd places was a mere .01 of a second!) American flags waved above the screaming crowd as Holcomb and his team exited the sled and removed their helmets, holding them high in the air against the bright blue February sky, shaking their fists in victory. The crowd erupted, chanting "USA...USA...USA...USA". Sweet!
Holcomb and Night Train Team Finish 4-man 2012
Steve Holcomb (left) and 2 of his team mates at the finish after winning 2012 4-man World Championship

The next time Lake Placid hosts world class bobsled and skeleton competitions make sure you attend. If you've already attended one of these events, you will be back. I know. It's an amazing experience. 

Fortune_Carron Bobsled
Fred Fortune and Schuyler Carron - Lake Placid Bobsled Club
Leader Board 2012 World Bobsled 4-man
Final times for 2012 4-man World Bobsled Championships
Holcomb and Night Train Team Finish 4-man 2012
Steve Holcomb (left) and 2 of his team mates at the finish after winning 2012 4-man World Championship

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