During the 1980’s, the bobsled teams from the Deutsches Democratic Republic (East Germany) ruled the competitions around the world….partly because their sleds were manufactured with a special aerodynamic material that made them faster than the rest of the world’s sleds….for which the world bobsled governing body would change the rules to make this material not allowed….because of the cost for production of the sled….which countries like Switzerland and Norway couldn’t afford….so, they made the playing field more fair….but, irrespective of the technology advantage….the East Germans had two of the best sled drivers in the world….who could handle these high-tech sleds….especially over the track at Cervinia, Italy.
If you fast forward to the 2018 Winter Olympics currently in progress in South Korea today….Germany (unified) and Switzerland are still world power in the 4 x man bobsled competition….so, not much has really changed….the Germans are still masters of aerodynamic engineering….which translates to speed on the road or sliding on the ice.
