My husband is a fan of ‘Cool Runnings’ and one of the members of the four man team (Howard Siler) was the person on whom the coach is based.
There is evidence that the four man team he was a member of was disqualified in 1972 but not of what the disqualification was for.
Anyone remember (or can find the information somewhere)?
Was the U.S. four-man bobsled team disqualified at Sapporo?
Because principal Trunchbull had already wonthe shot put, hammer throw and javelin medals that year and we felt like bobsled would have been overkill.
I see from the link that one U.S. team finished in 14th place, and one was disqualified. (I don’t remember the Sapporo Olympics.)
Racers can be disqualified for failing to start on time, finishing without all of the team members, or not finishing the race. It’s possible that they were DQ’d because they crashed on the course, which is a fairly common occurrence.
Teams may also be DQ’d for violating FIBT rules. The rules state that a bobsleigh cannot weigh more than 210 kg. empty, nor more than 630 kg. with the occupants in it. There are rules governing the width of the runners. Narrow runners allow the sleigh to travel faster, and so there is a limit. It is also not permissible to plate the runners, or to apply any kind of lubricant/friction-reducing coating, or to heat them. Exceeding the gross weight limit might be an innocent violation that results in a DQ. Exceeding the empty weight limit, or using narrow runners, or applying a friction-reducing coating to the runners, or heating the runners is clearly cheating.
If I were on a game show and was asked why U.S.-1 were disqualified, I’d answer that they crashed. But it’s certainly possible that there was cheating. Howard Siler competed in the 1980 games. My gut feeling is that if he had been involved in cheating in 1972 he would not have been allowed to compete. (Not that he would have been officially sanctioned, but I’d be surprised if the team would have him.) Of course there may have been cheating in which he was not involved. For example, maybe someone put on narrow runners without his knowledge. I would think that if he had cheated, there’d be something on the 'Net about it. Hence, my guess that they crashed.
I hope someone can answer the question factually.
From the Florence (Alabama) Times-Daily of February 12, 1972: “The No. 1 U.S. sled, with driver James J. Hickey Jr., Jim Bridges, and Tom Becker, all of Plattsburgh Air Force Base, NY, and Howard Siler of Boston, was disqualified when it overturned during Friday’s first two runs.”
I need to get onto a game show.
Meh. You’d get disqualified for tripping.
Too many riders.
The 4th man was a actually a midget, riding atop the shoulders of another midget.
IIRC, in the movie he said he was disqualified for putting weights in the sled.