1936 Winter Olympics / Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh at the 1936 Winter Olympics
information
venue	Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Competition venue	Rießersee Olympic bobsleigh run
Nations	13
Athletes	95 (95 )
date	11-15 February 1936
decisions	2
← Lake Placid 1932 St. Moritz 1948 →

Two bobsleigh competitions were held at the IV Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936 . The venue was the Riessersee natural railway with a length of 1,525 m and a height difference of 129.14 m.

Balance sheet

Medal table

space	country				total
1	Switzerland	1	2	-	3
2	United States	1	-	1	2
3	United Kingdom	-	-	1	1

Medalist

competitor	gold	silver	bronze
Two-man bobsleigh	Ivan Brown , Alan Washbond	Fritz after work , Joseph Beerli	Gilbert Colgate , Richard Lawrence
Four-man bobsleigh	Pierre Musy , Arnold Gartmann , Charles Bouvier , Joseph Beerli	Reto Capadrutt , Hans Aichele , Fritz Feierabend , Hans Bütikofer	Frederick McEvoy , James Cardno , Guy Dugdale , Charles Green

Results

(all times in min)

Two-man bobsleigh

space	country	athlete	1st run	2nd run	3rd run	4th run	total
1	United States	USA I: Ivan Brown , Alan Washbond	1: 22.50	1: 21.02	1: 25.39	1: 20.38	5: 29.29
2	SUI	Switzerland II: Fritz Feierabend , Joseph Beerli	1: 26.34	1: 20.31	1: 24.11	1: 19.88	5: 30.64
3	United States	USA II: Gilbert Colgate , Richard Lawrence	1: 25.06	1: 21.94	1: 24.80	1: 22.16	5: 33.96
4th	GBR	Great Britain I: Frederick McEvoy , James Cardno	1: 25.61	1: 23.85	1: 28.58	1: 22.21	5: 40.29
5	GER	Germany I: Hanns Kilian , Hermann von Valta	1: 27.29	1: 24.24	1: 26.63	1: 23.85	5: 42.01
6th	GER	Germany II: Fritz Grau , Albert Brehme	1: 30.66	1: 23.33	1: 26.94	1: 23.78	5: 44.71
7th	SUI	Switzerland I: Reto Capadrutt , Charles Bouvier	1: 25.45	1: 23.69	1: 34.09	1: 23.00	5: 46.23
8th	BEL	Belgium I: René Lunden , Eric De Spoelberch	1: 25.82	1: 24.35	1: 32.31	1: 23.80	5: 46.28
9	BEL	Belgium II: Max Houben , Martial Van Schelle	1: 31.73	1: 24.05	1: 26.13	1: 25.41	5: 57.32
10	NED	Netherlands I: Willem Gevers , Samuel Dunlop	1: 31.44	1: 24.99	1: 25.71	1: 26.00	5: 48.11
13	AUT	Austria I: Hans Stürer , Hans Rottensteiner	1: 28.12	1: 25.20	1: 30.55	1: 28.13	5: 52.00
18th	LIE	Liechtenstein: Eduard Theodor von Falz-Fein , Eugen Büchel
19th	AUT	Austria II: Hans Volckmar , Anton Kaltenberger	1: 33.71	1: 26.28	1: 30.50	1: 31.81	6: 02.30

Runs 1 and 2: February 14, 1936 Runs
3 and 4: February 15, 1936

23 bobsleighs at the start, 22 of them in the ranking.

The Americans had brought special bobsleighs with them, which proved to be particularly suitable for the railway in Rießersee, but the one constructed by the Swiss - and also used by the Belgians and Dutch - could please. After the first day USA I. Ivan Brown set the fastest time in the first run and finished second in second. Switzerland II moved up from 6th to 2nd thanks to a track record in the second run. For the time being, Switzerland I was third behind USA II.

The track conditions deteriorated on the second day of the competition due to warmer temperatures, especially on the last part of the track before the finish curve. Switzerland I started first, which was a disadvantage, because the following teams were able to achieve better times because the Swiss had laid a good track. USA 1 was significantly faster, USA II only undercut this time after six trips. Switzerland II then set another best time. USA II made for a fabulous time in the final run. Germany II also improved, before Switzerland I set a new track record for two-man bobsleighs. The US bob with Brown, who had to drive under 1: 21.73 for the gold medal, achieved 1: 20.38. The Luxemburgers Henri Koch / Gustav Wagner suffered an accident , who had taken the Bavarian curve too high and got over the track; they were taken away by the medical service who was there immediately. While Bremser Wagner suffered only minor grazes, pilot Koch suffered quite severe bruises and a cut.

Four-man bobsleigh

space	country	athlete	1st run	2nd run	3rd run	4th run	total
1	SUI	Switzerland II: Pierre Musy , Arnold Gartmann , Charles Bouvier , Joseph Beerli	1: 22.45	1: 18.78	1: 19.60	1: 19.02	5: 19.85
2	SUI	Switzerland I: Reto Capadrutt , Hans Aichele , Fritz Feierabend , Hans Bütikofer	1: 23.49	1: 19.88	1: 20.75	1: 18.61	5: 22.73
3	GBR	Great Britain I: Frederick McEvoy , James Cardno , Guy Dugdale , Charles Green	1: 23.38	1: 20.18	1: 20.74	1: 19.11	5: 23.41
4th	United States	USA I: Hubert Stevens , Crawford Merkel , Robert Martin , John Shene	1: 25.61	1: 19.17	1: 20.51	1: 18.54	5: 24.13
5	BEL	Belgium II: Max Houben , Martial Van Schelle , Louis De Ridder , Paul Graeffe	1: 22.22	1: 23.52	1: 22.50	1: 20.68	5: 28.42
6th	United States	USA II: Francis Tyler , James Bickford , Richard Lawrence , Max Bly	1: 25.61	1: 23.85	1: 20.22	1: 19.32	5: 29.00
7th	GER	Germany I: Hanns Kilian , Sebastian Huber , Fritz Schwarz , Hermann von Valta	1: 20.73	1: 23.05	1: 24.09	1: 21.20	5: 29.07
8th	BEL	Belgium I: René Lunden , Eric De Spoelberch , Philippe de Pret , Gaston Braun	1: 25.77	1: 21.81	1: 21.67	1: 20.57	5: 29.82
9	FRA	France I: Jean de Suarez d'Aulan , Jacques Bridou , Jean Dauven , Louis Balsan	1: 22.75	1: 22.18	1: 23.11	1: 22.32	5: 30.36
10	BEL	Belgium I: René Lunden , Eric De Spoelberch , Philippe de Pret , Gaston Braun	1: 25.77	1: 21.81	1: 21.67	1: 20.57	5: 29.82
11	ITA	Italy I: Antonio Brivio , Carlo Soldini , Emilio Dell'Oro , Raffaele Manardi	1: 26.96	1: 22.46	1: 20.98	1: 20.67	5: 31.07
12	TCH	Czechoslovakia I: Gustav Leubner , Walter Heinzl , Bedřich Posselt , Wilhelm Blechschmidt	1: 26.68	1: 25.60	1: 28.13	1: 25.11	5: 45.52
13	AUT	Austria II: Viktor Wigelbeyer , Franz Bednar , Robert Bednar , Johann Gudenus	1: 30.70	1: 29.62	1: 30.95	1: 26.64	5: 57.91

Runs 1 and 2: February 11, 1936 Runs
3 and 4: February 12, 1936

18 bobsleighs at the start, 13 of them in the ranking.

The first two runs were done in pretty great cold. After the first run, Germany I was ahead of Belgium II and Switzerland II. Immediately before Switzerland I, Great Britain I took fifth place. Germany II fell, the bob crossed the finish line empty. In the second run, after Switzerland I had already run, the run had to be interrupted due to a necessary repair on the track; the other runs were postponed to the evening. Things didn't go well for the German Hans Kilian, in the “Bayern curve” he hit hard, which resulted in 4th place in the intermediate ranking. The two Swiss bobsleighs were in the lead, Great Britain I was third.

The last two runs were scheduled for February 12th at 8 a.m. Since it had snowed lightly in the early morning hours, the first starters for the third run were at a disadvantage. Musy had had the same team since last year, which was probably the deciding factor for his victory. The 103 kg that brakeman Gartmann (who was known in sports circles as a former ice hockey player and speaker of the boxing competitions in Zurich) weighed on the scales also contributed a lot to the victory. Bouvier was a former football player from Servette Geneva. Switzerland II set the fastest time in the third race and third time in the fourth. Silver medalist Capadrutt did not yet have a secure lead, but on the second day he had the competition under control. In the third run he only drove the fourth time, but in the fourth run he was the last to start the track record set by Kilian by 9 hundredths of a second to 1: 18.61.

Web links

• Bobsleigh at the 1936 Winter Olympics in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Official report of the 1936 Winter Olympics (PDF; 29.6 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Duel America - Switzerland in the two-man bobsleigh race". In: Sport Zürich, February 15, 1936, p. 2.
2. ↑ "Another silver medal for Switzerland". In: Sport Zürich, February 17, 1936, p. 3.
3. ↑ «After two runs our four-man bobsleigh at the top». In: Sport Zürich, February 12, 1936, p. 3.
4. ^ "Gold and silver medal for Switzerland". In: Sport Zürich, February 13, 1936, p. 1.