Courtesy of VANOC

With a vertical drop of approximately 500 feet, the Whistler track, home to bobsled, skeleton and luge, is now the world's steepest.

Bobsled events at the Vancouver Games begin on Feb. 20, 2010 with two days of two-man competition, followed by the women's event (two-women sleds) Feb. 23 and 24. Competition concludes Feb. 26-27 with the four-man event.

In each of the three disciplines, four heats are held over two days and timed to the hundredth of a second. The gold medal is awarded to the sled with the lowest combined time over four runs.

Olympic bobsled events, along with those in skeleton and luge, will take place at Whistler Sliding Centre. Located on Blackcomb Mountain, the 4,757-foot track was completed in December 2007 after two-and-a-half years of construction at a cost of about $105 million. It is the 15^th international event sliding track in the world and just the fourth in North America - previous Olympic host cities Lake Placid, Calgary and Salt Lake City (Park City) are home to the others. With a vertical drop of about 500 feet, the Whistler track is now the world's steepest.

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Pierre Lueders, two-time Olympic medalist for Canada, was the first to drive a sled down the Whistler track on Dec. 19, 2007. The venue accommodates 12,000 spectators.

Torino recap
Germany swept the bobsled gold medals in Torino, led by Andre Lange, who won the two-man event before successfully defending his 2002 title in four-man. Switzerland's Martin Annen, the 2002 bronze medalist in two-man, also doubled up in Torino - he won bronze medals in both men's events. Pierre Lueders added two-man silver to his 1998 gold, while Aleksandr Zoubkov won Russia's first Olympic bobsled medal, a silver, in the four-man event. American Todd Hays, Salt Lake silver medalist in the four-man, settled for two seventh-place finishes. Sandra Kiriasis, long the most dominant driver in women's bobsled, finally won Olympic gold, upgrading her 2002 silver. Shauna Rohbock, a former professional soccer player who just missed the 2002 team as a brakeman, drove USA-1 to silver, while Gerda Weissensteiner, the 1994 Olympic champion in luge, claimed bobsled bronze for Italy.

Vancouver outlook
Lange's dominance may not be done. Last season he was nearly unbeatable, winning both the two- and four-man events at the 2008 World Championships and claiming the overall World Cup title. American Steve Holcomb has established his place among the world's top drivers since Torino. The World Cup winner in 2006-07 finished last season ranked third in the world. Holcomb's Torino teammate, Hays, who retired after those Games, hopes to join him in Vancouver: the 39-year-old Texan is back racing this season. Kiriasis is still the fastest driver among the women. The reigning Olympic champion has now won the past three world titles and finished atop the World Cup standings for six straight seasons. Rohbock remains a medal threat as well. The 2007 world bronze medalist was second to Kiriasis on the World Cup that season and finished fourth last year. In Pierre Lueders and Helen Upperton, the host nation has medal contenders in both the men's and women's disciplines.