What's the deal with monobob?
Beijing hosting inaugural women-only competition
CBC analyst Helen Upperton gives you the inside scoop on monobob, the newest bobsleigh event to slide its way into the Olympics, including who is most likely to walk away with the sport's first gold medal. Faster Higher Stronger presented by Bell.
Monobob is a new sliding event that has debuted at the Beijing Olympics, providing another medal opportunity for women in a sport that is heavily dominated by men. With 124 Olympic spots in bobsleigh for men and 46 for women, this new discipline allows pilots a second shot at Olympic glory.
Fondly referred to as "lonelybob," it is a smaller and lighter sled that is pushed and driven by just one athlete. If you ask the pilots from the women's bobsleigh field, they will tell you they feel so incredibly excited to have another opportunity to race. If you ask the brakemen, they will tell you that monobob has doubled their workload without giving them any more racing opportunities. Despite a mixed reaction from the athletes, spectators won't be disappointed.
Consistency in sleds allows smaller programs to compete
A few things make this event exciting. First, the sleds are all built by the same manufacturer, a company called iXent based in Munich, Germany. This really levels the playing field in a way we have not seen in the sport. Although there will always be slight differences between the sleds in the way they are set up by each team, standardization helps prevent global domination by the teams with the biggest budgets. May the best bobsledder win!
The maximum allowable weight of the sled and athlete is significantly lighter. A two-man team in the women's event has a maximum weight of 330 kilograms, for the men it is 390 kilograms. The maximum for monobob is a mere 248 kilograms. That huge weight differential creates a lot more instability, especially in the straightaways. Staying in control requires more skill and finesse to pilot these little ice rockets down the track.
WATCH | Canada's Christine de Bruin races in the first two Olympic heats:
In this event, the fastest starters really pull away from the field, so watch for the powerhouse pushers to be leading at the top of the track. Having said that, the slower starters will have ample time to make a comeback at this incredibly technical venue with bending sections of track. With the loss of speed and pressure on the three uphill sections, it really is anyone's race.
The medal favourites
These are the athletes to watch at this inaugural Olympic event:
Kaillie Humphries, who previously won three Olympic medals for Canada, will now be rocking the red, white and blue for the United States. She is by far the most experienced driver in the field but has been a bit off her game this season. However, if anyone can handle the pressure and deliver four consistent heats, it's Humphries. As one would expect, she sits in top spot after the first two heats.
WATCH | Kaille Humphries shows her quality in Beijing:
Her U.S. teammate Elana Meyers Taylor was the overall leader this season in the monobob world series. She had one heck of a time upon arriving in Beijing, testing positive for COVID and going into quarantine. She's also a three-time Olympic medallist but she is still without a gold. Meyers Taylor's power at the start gives her a huge advantage in the top half of the track. She sits in fourth after the first two heats.
You can never count out the German team in the sport of bobsleigh. Defending Olympic champion Mariama Jamanka isn't a fan of the monobob event but she has been pretty fast in training. Her teammate Laura Nolte might be the better bet for a podium in this event, sitting in third at the halfway point of the Olympic competition. She's a strong starter and has been a contender in just about every race this season!
WATCH | Get to know Canada's Cynthia Appiah ahead of the final races in Beijing:
Canada has two great pilots entered in the race. Cynthia Appiah's strength lies in her incredibly dominant start but she has a lot of work to do to climb back into contention. She sits in tenth halfway through. Christine De Bruin has great consistency and more years behind the steering ropes and sits in second after two runs. Christine will have to remain consistent to win a medal as less than one second separates second from seventh place.
