Alexey Andryunin (born June 18, 1976) is a Russian bobsledder who has competed since 1998. His only Bobsleigh World Cup victory was in the four-man event at Lake Placid in December 2007.
Andryunin's best finish at the FIBT World Championships was eighth in the two-man event at Altenberg in 2008.
René Hoppe is a German bobsledder who has competed since 1998. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, he won a gold medal in the four-man event with teammates Kevin Kuske, André Lange, and Martin Putze.
Martin Putze is a German bobsledder who has competed since the early 2000s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the four-man event with a gold in 2006 and a silver in 2010.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and Skeleton. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States at the meeting of their first International Congress in Paris, France. In June 2015, it announced a name change from FIBT to IBSF. The federation's headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IBSF World Championships, part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since 1930. Starting with 2002, no World Championships being held in non-Winter Olympic years. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947. Men's skeleton was introduced as a championship of its own in 1982 while women's bobsleigh and skeleton events were introduced in 2000. Both the women's bobsleigh and skeleton events were merged with the men's bobsleigh events at the 2004 championships. A mixed team event, consisting of one run each of men's skeleton, women's skeleton, 2-man bobsleigh, and 2-women bobsleigh, was held from 2007 to 2019. In 2020 it was replaced with skeleton mixed team event, consisting of one run each of men's and women's skeleton. Women's monobob event was included in 2021.
The FIBT World Championships 1966 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the sixth time, having hosted the event previously in 1937 (Two-man), 1939 (Four-man), 1950, 1954, and 1960. The Four-man event was cancelled following the death of West Germany's Toni Pensperger during competition. Pensperger would be awarded a posthumous gold medal from the FIBT along with his surviving teammates Ludwig Siebert, Helmut Werzer, and Roland Ebert. As of 2010, Pensperger's death would set the FIBT to increase and improve safety among all bobsleigh competitions at all levels, including the Winter Olympics and the World championships.
Bruno Mingeon is a French bobsledder who competed from 1988 to 2006. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event at Nagano in 1998. He was born in Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
Gary J. Sheffield was an American bobsledder who competed from the early 1950s to the early 1960s. He won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with one gold and three silvers. In 2004, he died at the age of 68.
Udo Lehmann is a German bobsledder who competed from 1994 to 2004. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 2004 and a bronze in 1995.
The FIBT World Championships 2011 took place 14 February – 27 February 2011 in Königssee, Germany, for the fifth time, doing so previously in 1979, 1986, and 1990 (skeleton), and 2004. In 2007, the championships were awarded to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy over Winterberg Germany, but Cortina withdrew in February 2009 to a series of issues.
Daumants Dreiškens is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman, who has competed since 2003.
The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, February 20 to March 1, 2009, at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, for the ninth time, doing so previously in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 (skeleton), and 2003. Lake Placid was chosen 25–11 over Igls, Austria.
Oskars Melbārdis is a former Latvian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He is the most successful bobsledder in the history of his country, having won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. He also earned the first-ever gold medal for Latvia at World Championships in Igls, preceded by one silver and two bronze medals in 2009–2015.
The Eugenio Monti Olympic Track was a bobsleigh and skeleton track located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It was named after Eugenio Monti (1928–2003), who won six bobsleigh medals at the Winter Olympic Games between 1956 and 1968 and ten medals at the FIBT World Championships between 1957 and 1966. It was featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, held after the 1981 FIBT World Championships, before the track was shortened to its current configuration. In January 2008, after one last bobsleigh race tournament, the track was closed.
Alexander Rödiger is a German bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He won a silver medal in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The bobsleigh competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre between 20 and 27 February 2010.
Andreas Barucha is a German bobsledder who has competed since 1999. He won a gold in the mixed team event at the 2009 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. His best finish at the FIBT World Championships was seventh in the four-man event at Calgary in 2005.
The four-man bobsleigh competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was held at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia, on 26–27 February. The German team of André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, and Martin Putze were the defending Olympic champion in this event. America's team of Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz were the defending world champions in this event. The test event was won by the Latvian team of Jānis Miņins, Daumants Dreiškens, Oskars Melbardis, and Intars Dambis. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games place took place in Igls, Austria on 24 January 2010 and was won by the German team of Lange, Hoppe, Kuske, and Putze. Holcomb of the United States won both the four-man and the combined World Cups.
Arvis Vilkaste is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman who has competed since 2010.
Janis Strenga is a former Latvian bobsledder, brakeman who has competed since 2008.
The European Bobsleigh and Skeleton Championships are the main bobsleigh and skeleton championships in Europe. The first bobsleigh European Championships with two-man event was held in 1929 in Davos, Switzerland. However, as Bobsleigh World Championships started to be held on an annual basis since following year, European Championships didn't resumed until 1965. A four-man event was included in 1967 when first combined championship occurred. The men's European Skeleton Championships were held separately in 1981–1988 before resuming in 2003 when women's skeleton event was added as well. In 2004 the first women's European Bobsleigh Championship was held with two-woman event. The following year both the women's bobsleigh and skeleton events were merged with the men's bobsleigh events at the European Championships. Since then, all bobsleigh and skeleton events are usually competes at the same time and venue. Women's monobob event was included in 2022.