USA Bobsled strikes deals for higher-tech sleds, with eyes on 2034 Salt Lake City Games
· Yahoo Sports
USA Bobsled unveiled plans to build what will arguably be the most high-tech sleds in its history Wednesday after striking deals with four companies with deep ties to Utah, which will host the 2034 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
The companies — 47G, Albany Engineered Composites, Hexcel and Nammo Composite Solutions — will work with USA Bobsled on what the team describes as next-generation two-man and four-man sleds, with some of the same technology currently being used in planes, missiles and unmanned aircraft.
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It’s unclear when the sleds will be used in competition, but there are plans to start testing some demonstration models this winter.
“It’s about us taking lessons from the aerospace world and figuring out how we should be applying them to bobsled,” USA Bobsled CEO Aron McGuire said Wednesday when the agreements were announced in Salt Lake City.
Albany Engineered Composites plans to manufacture composite sled cowlings for four-man sleds. Nammo will manufacture carbon-fiber cowlings for two-man bobsleds. Hexcel was brought on for expertise in advanced composite materials, and 47G worked to bring all the parties together.
The idea is simple: Build a sled that can withstand speeds that regularly exceed 80 mph down ice-covered chutes, while finding ways to shave those fractions of a second that decide the difference between winning and losing.
“Every detail of the sled matters when you are pushing at the start and steering down the track,” two-time USA Bobsled Olympian and 2025 monobob world champion Kaysha Love said. “Knowing that some of the best engineers in aerospace are working on our equipment gives us confidence. We get to focus on what we do best while they help us go faster.”
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