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By the 1950s, however, the sport as we know it today had begun to take
shape. As the critical importance of the start was recognized, strong, fast athletes in
other sports were drawn to bobsledding. Track and field competitors, handballers, gymnasts
and others who could deliver a vigorous push at the start were much sought after.
In 1952, a critical rule change limiting the total weight of crew and sled ended the era
of the super heavyweight bobsledder and sealed the future of the sport as an athletic
contest of the highest caliber.
More athletic crews went hand-in-hand with advances in sleds and tracks. Today, the
world's top teams train year-round and compete mostly on artificial ice tracks in sleek
high-tech sleds made of fiberglass and steel.
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