Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
2005 aerial view of the current bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
Location in New York Show map of New York Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	220 Bob Sled Run, vicinity of Lake Placid, New York
Area	23 acres (9.3 ha)
NRHP reference No.	10000008
Added to NRHP	February 4, 2010

The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run is a famous sports track in Lake Placid, New York, USA. It's used for exciting winter sports like bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton. This special place has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1980. It was also home to the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000.

The track you see today is the third version. It was finished in 2000. Lake Placid was the first place outside of Europe to host major world championships for bobsleigh (in 1949) and luge (in 1983). Because of its important history, the bobsled track was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

History of the Track

A poster from the 1930s inviting people to visit the bobsled run.

The first bobsled track at Mt. Van Hoevenberg was built in 1930. It was specially made for the 1932 Winter Olympics. A German designer named Stanislaus Sentzytsky created it. His design was different from tracks in Europe. The Lake Placid track was longer and steeper, with bigger drops in its curves. This allowed for faster speeds and better control for the drivers.

After American teams won two gold medals and one silver in 1932, bobsledding became very popular in the United States. American teams were very strong in the sport until 1956. Even today, parts of the original 1932 track are still used for training and fun rides.

Building the First Track

Before 1932, bobsled races happened on a steep hill called Intervales. People loved how fast the bobsleds went, but some teams crashed. This showed that a safer, better track was needed.

So, in 1929-1930, a new track was planned at Mount Van Hoevenberg. A man named Henry Homburger led the project. Some people worried about building on state-owned land, but the track was built anyway. Construction happened from August to December 1930. The track opened on Christmas Day in 1930. It was about 2.3 kilometers (1.5 miles) long with 26 curves.

Changes and Safety Improvements

After the 1932 Olympics, the track was made shorter. About 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) and ten curves were removed. The track became about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) long with 16 curves.

In 1949, the track hosted the FIBT World Championships for bobsleigh. Sadly, a Belgian athlete named Max Houben died during a practice run. This led to many safety improvements on the track.

The track hosted more world championships in 1961, 1969, 1973, and 1978. Another sad accident happened in 1966 when Sergio Zardini crashed. This led to even more safety changes.

The 1980 Olympic Tracks

The bobsled run during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

For the 1980 Winter Olympics, a new, modern bobsleigh track was built. It was made of reinforced concrete and could be kept cold with artificial refrigeration. This new track was approved for races in December 1979.

A separate luge track was also built for the 1980 Games. This was the first luge track in the United States. At first, they thought about building a track that could be used for both bobsleigh and luge. But this idea was too expensive, so they built two separate tracks. After the 1980 Olympics, both tracks hosted their own world championships in 1983. The old 1932 bobsled track was then only used for fun rides.

Modern Era and New Track

An East German bobsleigh that won gold in the 1980 Olympics.

Skeleton racing started using the bobsleigh track in the 1990s. It hosted the skeleton world championships in 1997. By the late 1990s, parts of both the bobsleigh and luge tracks were taken down. A brand new track was built for the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games. This new track was finished in January 2000.

Since the 1980 Olympics, the track has been part of the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex. It is managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA).

Since 2006, the track has hosted the "Chevy Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge." This is an event where NASCAR drivers race down the track. It helps raise money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which makes bobsleds for the United States team. In 2009, a driver from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) won the event. In 2010, Melanie Troxel became the first woman to compete in this challenge.

In 2009, the Lake Placid track made history. It was the first track to host world championships for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton all in the same year, outside of an Olympic year.

Current Track Details

The current track is used for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton. It has different starting points for each sport.

The track drops about 420 feet (128 meters) from start to finish. It is located about 2,200 feet (670 meters) above sea level.

Famous Turns

Many turns on the track have special names. These names were given by sports commentator John Morgan.

Track Records

Athletes from around the world have set amazing speed records on this track.

Track records

Sport	Record	Nation - athlete(s)	Date	Time (seconds)
Bobsleigh two-woman	Start	Canada - Kaillie Humphries & Shelley-Ann Brown	December 15, 2007	5.54
Bobsleigh two-woman	Track	Germany - Sandra Kiriasis & Romy Logsch	December 15, 2007	56.94
Luge - men's singles	Start	David Möller -  Germany	February 7, 2009	1.712
Luge - men's singles	Track	Tucker West -  United States	December 5, 2014	51.002
Luge - women's singles	Start	Tatjana Hüfner -  Germany	February 6, 2009	6.350
Luge - women's singles	Track	Summer Britcher -  United States	March 18, 2017	43.878
Luge - men's doubles	Start	Germany - Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt	February 6, 2009	6.219
Luge - men's doubles	Track	Italy - Gerhard Plankensteiner & Oswald Haselrieder	February 6, 2009	43.641
Skeleton - men's	Track	Matthew Antoine -  United States	March 4, 2011	53.68
Skeleton - women's	Track	Marion Trott -  Germany	February 26, 2009	56.23

Major Competitions Hosted

The Mt. Van Hoevenberg track has been a key venue for many important winter sports events:

• Winter Olympics: 1932, 1980
• FIBT World Championships (Bobsleigh & Skeleton): 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 (men's skeleton), 2003 (Men's bobsleigh), 2009, 2012
• FIL World Luge Championships: 1983, 2009