Bobsledder Quits In Fear

[The Baron]

Story

It's funny the way a story can reveal yourself to yourself. Because, I mean, intellectually, I know that I've never been in this guy's position - I don't know him or what's been going on with him, and if he's scared to do it, then maybe it's best he doesn't do it, maybe it would be a detriment to the other guys on the team, and so on. So, my point is, I know that it's not my place to sit in judgement in this guy.

But, I have to admit, that my first reaction on seeing this story was "Dude, you're wussing out in front of the entire planet! I'd be more afraid of being seen to do that than of cracking up going down the hill!"

Having said that, if I ever do find myself sitting in a bobsled at the top of the hill;, my reaction may well be different...

[The Baron]

. It didn't help that eight sleds crashed on that first day of training.

I missed that sentence the first time around - I could see where that would rattle you a little.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

There is that one part of the track they call the 50-50 curve (or was it turn?) because half the people were wrecking on it during the training runs.
It was pretty scary seeing that woman's German bobsled team crash last night.

[The Baron]

I haven't seen any of the Winter Olympics so far - I'm sure it's even scarier when you're right there, and thinking "I've got to go down that track..."

[Doctor Hmmm?]

I'm struggling to reconcile this public statement by the team coach:

"I've told him that to his face,"de la Hunty said, "but as a coach I have to support it because I'm responsible for him sending his team down the track in the right frame of mind."

with these statements from the same interview:

"I've never seen someone get to a major event and not compete because they're scared. You keep your inner fears to yourself and do it," de la Hunty told reporters at a news conference.

and this:

It was a split decision among the team to quit the games, said de la Hunty, who talked about how he told his driver he was making a choice he would regret forever.

and, especially, this:

De la Hunty pinned some of the blame on Arnold's wife ...

Someone should buy Mr. de la Hunty a dictionary, and underline the definition of "support."

[Figserello]

Hasn't someone died already on one of these slopes? I kinda see his point!

Perhaps the fake snow is faster and slippery-er than the real stuff?

[Captain Comics]

This just doesn't make sense. This is a guy who dedicated his life intensely to a single activity, and now that he's at the pinnacle, he's suddenly having second thoughts? If it was a matter of courage, wouldn't he have had this crisis of confidence when he was, like, 15?

There's probably a lot more going on here than we know, and will never know. We don't really have much choice but to accept the story at face value and move on.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Looking at this CNN story "Fear Prompts Bobsledder to Quit Olympics", it says the driver crashed during the practice round. So his coach expects him to try again, knowing that he's crashed and eight sleds crashed on the first day of training?

Seems to me ALL of the teams should have refused to compete until that course was repaired.