Winter Sports at 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics

The PyeongChang Olympics will kick start the games in less than 200 days.  If you do not know yet, Soohorang and Bandabi are the mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be held I PyeongChang, Gangwon, South Korea.

Soohorang is a white tiger.  The tiger is an animal closely related to Korean mythology and is a symbol of trust, strength and protection.  Bandabi is an Asiatic black bear.  The bear is a symbol of strong will and courage. 

A total of 7 snow sports, 5 ice sports and 3 sliding sports will be held during the Olympic games.  Let trusty Soohorang introduce you to these games.

The Paralympic will feature 4 snow sports events and 2 ice sports events.  Courageous Bandabi will introduce you to these games.

For those who are familiar with Korean reality show, these was a special episode on the PyeongChang Olympic games.  Park Bo Gum was the guest celebrity who took part in programme and introduced several sports by attempting them together with the show hosts and national team athletes.  The sports which really got me interested in the Olympic games was Bobsleigh.

Bobsleigh began to be practiced as a sport in Switzerland in the late 19th century.  In bobsleigh, athletes ride a steerable sled down an ice track. And there are three events comprised of 4-man bobsleigh, 2-man bobsleigh, and women´s bobsleigh. 2-person bobsleigh includes a pilot and a brakeman. The pilot uses the inner steering rope to drive the sled. And the brakeman puts on the brake to bring the sled to a halt after it has passed the finish line. 4-man bobsleigh adds two pushmen.

For bobsleigh, the track length is 1,200 to 1,500m long with an average slope of 8% to 15% while the curve radius is minimum 20m. The pressure an athlete feels while going around a curve is nearly four times the gravity, and the bobsleigh reaches an average maximum speed of 135Km an hour. It is important to glide around 14 to 22 curves on straight, curved, and circular segments of the track increasing the speed.

Watch the clips to experience the excitement in riding a bobsleigh!