The Bob as a sport was invented in the 1880s in Albany (New York) and than introduced in Switzerland. We know the first races were held on a roads covered by snow, and the first races were held in Davos in 1883 and in St. Moritz in 1884. The first club was formed in 1897 but the first real track built specifically for these sport was opened in 1902. This sport was completely made of wood and later were introduced the steel skates and today in built with special materials and studied to have aerodynamic performs.
In 1923 was founded the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) and next yeare thise sport was part of the Winter Olympics. Initially disputed only the four man bobsleigh. The two-man bobsleigh was added in 1932, while the women's events made their Olympic Games debut in 2002.
In Italy in 1920 was founded in Cortina d'Ampezzo the first italian bobsleigh club: Named Cortina Bob Club, and here in 1930 was disputed the first edition of the Italian championship of two-man bobsleigh, in 1934 was introduced the four-man bobsleigh. The most important character of the Italian bob history was certainly Eugenio Monti, who competed at a competitive level from 1954 to 1968.
It's a sport with a high adrenaline content which needs a significant athletic training since the initial boost phase is a decisive element in the end result, not least is the skill of the pilot to make the curves in the best possible way to try to give acceleration to the bob. Michele Menardi knows this sensations, he is a young and winner champion.
The Cortina bobsleigh track is currently closed, but in the past it has given high-international level athletes, the season expected in the first period a pilot training with exercise guide divided into various levels. In the middle of the season as well as various training runs were carried out the activities of clubs, as promotional races and Italian championships. In the final phase were scheduled various races of international importance, including the circuits of the World Cup and the European Cup. Amongst the activities carried out by the track there was the taxi bob, which made try to the non athletes this incredible adrenaline rush.