ParaBobsledders ready for second day of training in St. Moritz

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Following the successful conclusion of the inaugural ParaBobsled World Cup in Inglis, Austria, sliders departed for St. Moritz, Switzerland where they are starting their second day of training.

 

Podium winners Great Britain’s Corie Mapp and the United States’s Jason Strum are both hoping to repeat their performance when the St. Moritz competition officially gets underway.  Outside of practice on the track, Strum is trying to take it easy as he is still feeling the effects on the lower left part of his back as the result of a crash in Inglis.  He had two good practice runs yesterday. Other racers in St. Moritz include Australia’s Maarten de vlugt.

 

The season will eventually move to Lake Placid, where sliders will race in a two man sled. There, Strum hopes to partner up with Mapp to get another podium win. The two were partners at an exhibition race in Calgary last season.

 

Some modifications have been made for ParaBobsled.  In North American competition and training, they use two man sleds, and wheelchair athletes are put in the sled with a roll cage and a five point harness. They are typically drivers. Sleds are often pushed by amputees, who also serve as the breakman.  In European events and training, a one man MonoBob sled is used with a drop start.  Wheelchair sliders have their legs strapped into the sled in a seated position and also wear a safety belt.  According to American Jason Sturm, the sleds are very safe as he has crashed in them with no issues.