Slip-slidin' Away To '88

At the same time, federation members sent letters to college athletic departments around the country, asking for athletes interested in bobsledding to take the test and send in their scores. One such appeal landed the three strapping young men who eventually helped Roy launch his sled to those record runs at the Lake Placid course: brakeman Jim Herberich, a Harvard sprinter (200 meters in 20.78 seconds), crewmen Brian Shimer, a Moorhead State wide receiver (40 yards in 4.4), and Scott Pladel, a Northeastern University graduate student who was the 1980 New York State high school triple-jump champion.

The recruit who has American bobsledders buzzing, though, is one of the world's fastest humans, Willie Gault of the Chicago Bears, Gault pushed for nine-time national champion Brent Rushlaw's four-man bob that finished sixth behind Roy at Lake Placid.

As the quality of bob-athletes has risen, so has the efficiency of the sleds. At the two-man event in Calgary there were palpable differences in design—from the round and flat bellies to the noses cut in divergent shapes. The Swiss and East German sleds, some of the fastest on the Calgary run, had that sleek, state-of-the-art presence of Indy cars. The Americans are still behind the Europeans in technological research, but Roy is in the forefront of a movement to make American sleds slipperier.

Since 1985 Roy has worked with researchers on streamlining. Using modeling clay to change a sled's shape, and the University of Michigan's wind tunnel to test it out, they reduced drag by 10% on a two-man bob. "I want to be the Hans Hiltebrand of the sport." Roy says, referring to the innovative Swiss bobsled designer and champion sled driver.

As usual, Hiltebrand himself was among the leaders last weekend, but even the best racers were frustrated by Calgary's fickle weather. The unseasonably balmy temperatures played havoc with the ice, and the new $24 million, 1,475-meter Olympic course became a nightmare of cracks and bare spots.

"It's too bumpy," said Ralph Pichler, the Swiss two-man world champion. "It's the roughest artificial track that I know. There are ruts and holes and you can't drive the way you want. The straightaways have waves and you jump from wave to wave." Just as Pichler was learning how to drive the course, so the maintenance crew was learning how to prepare and maintain it. "It has to get better for the Olympics." Pichler said.

Roy figures he has to get better for the Olympics, too, if he is to have any chance for a medal. The team, though, has already notched a victory of sorts. One of the beer-drinking good ol' boys, the 35-year-old Rushlaw, has been converted to the straight and narrow. An exceptional driver, Rushlaw is off beer, has lost 25 pounds, and is determined to make his fourth Olympic team. "Mall is not only our hope; he has made everyone else competitive," says Morgan "Matt has made them all work harder."

A U.S. team coach, Mike Hollrock, an old-schooler himself, couldn't even get Rushlaw into the bar at night to have a Labatt's. In fact, he says, "Nobody on this team drinks!"

That's a change. Of course, Roy is leading it, and though he has a way to go to beat Hiltebrand and friends, he senses he is getting close. He talks about technology, teamwork, discipline and athleticism. Most clearly, the gold he seeks does not have bubbles in it.