The U.S. men’s bobsled team had a disastrous performance during a World Cup event this weekend, though fortunately no one was seriously hurt.
It was the second-to-last event before the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and the four-man bobsled team ran into trouble right from the start. The rear three members of the team — Ryan Rager, Hunter Powell, and Caleb Furnell — failed to get into the sled during the first portion of the race.
Kris Horn, the driver or “pilot,” got in first, as is common in bobsledding.
But Rager appeared to lose his balance while trying to seat himself in the moving sled. That caused a domino effect, with Powell thrown violently off the sled into an icy wall, nearly hitting a camera operator. Furnell also fell, leaving Horn by himself.
“Absolute disaster for the Americans,” the race announcer said right after the crash. “They can’t believe it.”
Without the weight of his teammates, Horn was forced to tackle the entire course solo. It’s tough to handle a bobsled moving up to 90 mph without the weight of team members. Moreover, Horn had to move backward to grab the brakes toward the end of the course — a job normally handled by a teammate. Yet Horn still managed to finish the course, to the amazement of onlookers.
A Highly Dangerous Olympic Event
Horn’s ability to stay calm under pressure is even more notable given that this was his second crash of the weekend. Just a day earlier, Horn had also crashed during training for the two-man bobsled race. Horn’s teammate Carsten Vissering suffered shoulder burns that forced Rager to replace him for Sunday’s four-man race.
Horn started in bobsledding as a brakeman, so he knew how to slow down the sled as it crossed the finish line. Athletes and coaches from several teams rushed to help, many shaking his hand and seemingly in disbelief.
None of the American athletes were seriously hurt.
“We are fortunate it wasn’t worse,” USA Bobsled head coach Chris Fogt told the Associated Press.
Bobsledding is considered one of the most dangerous winter sports. That’s primarily because the sleds can reach speeds up to 90 mph and can cause serious concussions for the athletes. Including the riders, a four-man bobsled weighs about 1,400 pounds, and can reach 5 Gs of force during descents. For comparison, space rockets create between 3-4.5 Gs of force during liftoff.
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