A Remarkable Victory

[Siamanto]

OVERCOMING THE ODDS: The Armenian Bobsled Team

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

April 5, 2004

Sports Wire

 

By Allen Babayan

 

PARK CITY, UTAH

 

 

It's Friday, November 28th, 2003, and Armenia's two top bobsledders

have made the journey from their California homes to the Park City,

Utah, venue for the first race in the upcoming 2003-2004 America's Cup

2 Man Bobsled Championship. Driver, Dan Janjigian and Brakeman, Allen

Babayan are eager to participate in this first of 6 race championship

series, to be held over the next 6 weeks, in 3 different venues

spanning 2 countries and more than 5000 miles.

 

Dan Janjigian, pilot for the Armenian team is no stranger to the Park

City track, as he drove Armenia to a proud finish during the 2002

Winter Olympics. Since then, the team has raced this track on only one

occasion, during the 2002-2003 America's Cup series the year before.

The team's best finish in any America's Cup race up until this year

had been 4th place, as the precious alloy medals have always seemed to

elude the 2-man duo. Though the competition level was now higher than

in years past, with countries such as Canada and the U.S. entering a

large number of athletes, with Armenia's new 260lb Brakeman, it was

evident that this season would be much more successful for the

Armenians.

 

 

DAY 1 OF PRACTICE

 

It's Saturday, November 29th, 2003, and the air temperature is a cool

5 degrees. Over the next 3 days, the athlete's will be permitted to

make 6 practice runs down the 1-mile mountain to get a feel for the

track, and make adjustment's to their equipment for optimal

performance. Practice does not commence until 3:00pm, so many of the

athletes are still asleep; all except for the Armenian team.

 

Due to a lack of funding, the Armenian Team was unable to raise the

necessary $2,500 to ship its sled from New York to the Park City

track. As a result, the Armenian athletes are up at 6:00am, and will

have to drive their rental car over 100 miles to rent a sled from a

local team. Cost: $1,500. Once they get the sled, they must hurry

back to the track and make critical adjustments to ensure they will

fit inside of the sled prior to practice.

 

It is now 10:30am, and while most teams are just finishing breakfast,

the Armenian team is just arriving back at the track with their rented

sled. The two men franticly begin working on the sled, to ensure it

will be able to accommodate the sustained 90mph speeds, and 5g's of

pressure that will be required of it. Just after 1:00pm, the Armenian

athletes complete making all of the adjustments they can, but are

unable to predict with any certainty how the bobsled will react once

on the mountain.

 

It is just prior to 3:00pm, and all of the teams are at the top of the

mountain awaiting their respective turns. The field is quite

competitive, including teams from Slovakia, United States, Israel,

Greece, Mexico and Canada to name a few. All of the teams make safe

descents, and by 6:00pm, practice is over for the day. However, the

Armenian team is experiencing some problems that cannot be solved, as

the sled they have rented appears to be too small to accommodate the

two athletes.

 

 

DAY 2 OF PRACTICE

 

It's Sunday, November 30, 2003. Allen and Dan make their way to the

track by 7:00am, to determine whether the sled can be modified to

better fit the two athletes. They are able to complete some minor

adjustments just prior to practice, and prepare for their first of 2

practice runs. Both runs yield the same results, as the men determine

that the adjustments they made were unsuccessful. The primary issue is

a simple one, but is quite serious. During the 90mph turns, the

athletes experience a tremendous amount of pressure (known as

G-force), which results in Driver's head being pushed backward, while

the Brakeman's is pressed forward. As a result, the duo constantly

collide into one-another during the decent, impairing Dan from clearly

seeing down the track, which is analogous to a race car driver driving

his car blindfolded.

 

 

DAY 3 FINAL DAY OF PRACTICE

 

It's Monday, December 1, 2003, and the team has been plagued with

equipment concerns and difficulties. To add to the problems, the cold

weather and lack of sleep has taken its toll on the Armenian team, and

Allen has found himself sick with a 102-degree temperature. The harsh

conditions and circumstances have also taken their toll on Dan, as he

is unable to extend is right arm due to an injury sustained during

practice. The two-men courageously make their way to the track, and

prepare for their final day of practice.

 

On their first descent, the team immediately begins to experience

problems. The two athletes begin to once again collide into each other

with their helmets, and Dan is clearly having difficulties seeing. As

they round the 6th turn, approaching 65mph, the sled is smashing into

the walls, throwing both athletes around like a pair of rag-dolls. By

turn 9, the sled is continuing to accelerate in excess of 80mph, and

Dan's head is being hit from the back, and then being smashed forward

into the front cowling of the sled, impairing his vision even more and

eventually shattering his plastic visor. As the athletes come out of

turn 11, the pressure is too much, and the sled is being forced up the

15-foot wall of ice at nearly 90 mph.

 

Then the inevitable happens........ the sled flips over at 90mph.

 

The athletes brace their necks to avoid a serious injury. The two men

slide for over < of a mile on their heads, until the sled finally

comes to a stop. Both men are moving, and as Dan emerges from the

sled, drops of blood can be seen dripping from his chin onto the

ice. Allen is still trapped in the sled, as his ankle has been wedged

in between the medal frame during the crash. Once his foot is

released, he too emerges from the wreckage. Both men embrace, and even

exchange smiles, as if to say, 'that was a close call'.

 

This is a common issue that comes up when teams are forced to rent

different sleds for different venues. The goal becomes to not only

prepare for the race, but to additionally learn the nuances of a

different sled. One cannot help but think that this crash could have

been avoided if only the team had the funding to ship and use their

own bobsled!

 

 

RACE DAY

 

December 3, 2003. Allen is up quite early in the morning, as he was

unable to sleep well. His temperature is now 103 degrees, and he does

not know if he will be able to race. Dan prepares breakfast, in hopes

that a good meal might help his teammate. By 11:00am, it does not

appear that Allen's condition is improving, and Dan is forced to call

the Race Director's office to explore the team's options. The Director

tells Dan that if Allen is unable to participate, Armenia will be

disqualified from the race. He then requires that Allen be given a

check-up by the race Doctor, to determine if he is fit to race. Both

men begin to panic, as they begin to realize that there is a real

possibility that they will be unable to race.

 

At that moment, it becomes clear to Allen that he has no choice but to

overcome his ailment. Despite Dan's concerns regarding Allen's well

being, Allen decides that nothing is going to stop him from racing.

During the check-up with the race Doctor, the team is able to convince

the Doctor that Allen would be able to race.

 

It is now 3:00pm, and the athletes have completed their pre-race

warm-ups. Dan is visualizing the run in his head, gathering all of his

strength and focus. Allen is reminiscent of a horse in the starting

gates, prancing back and forth, ready to explode. The two men are up

next, and make their way to the starting line for the first of 2 runs

which will decide the race. The crowds of spectators begin to converge

alongside of the 50 meter starting point, to view the Armenian team's

explosive start. The Armenian team gives the crowd just what they

wanted, posting a time of 5.13 seconds, one of the fastest starting

times of the week. The team is in 3rd place after the first run, which

puts them in a position to get a bronze medal, if they can hold on

with another 3rd place finish in the second and final run.

 

After the first run, Slovakia has the first place slot, United States

is second, with Armenia just five hundredths of a second behind for

third. As the athlete's prepare for the second and final run, the

crowd is surprised to see Armenia in a top 3 position, as this has

never been accomplished before. The question on everybody's mind was

whether they could hold on!

 

As the Armenian team approached the start line for their final run,

both athletes seemed to be in a trance. There was total and absolute

silence at the starting line, as the 60 second start clock began to

tick....... 55........50.....then 45 seconds. As the 2 athlete's

customarily do, they tightened their helmets, and removed the rubber

covers that protect the sharp spikes on their shoes. They shook hands

and hugged, and then assumed their starting positions. Allen began

with the words "Botrast" (ready), and Dan relied with "Heema" (now).

 

Allen began the countdown sequence........ "yerek.......... yerkoo..

...... mek!" The sled exploded forward, as if strapped to a rocket

propelled engine. The two men were not only running for themselves,

but for their country! With each step, the duo ripped up the ice

underneath their feet, hitting the 50-meter mark in an a blistering

5.14 seconds.

 

The run was beautiful, all the way down the mountain. As they crossed

the line, they looked up at the clock to see that they had not only

held on to third place, but moved into SECOND place, beating the

United States and winning the Silver Medal! Both men looked at each

other with tears in their eyes, knowing that they had done the

impossible, overcome many adversities, and claimed the silver medal

from the US team on their home track. When the two men were

interviewed after the race, they stated that although they were

surprised about winning the silver medal, they were not surprised that

they were able to overcome all of the obstacles and complications.

They've been doing it for years!

 

 

--

To help support the Armenian Bobsled team, please send tax deductible

contributions to the Armenian Athletes Association at 12940 Atherton

Court, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, and visit their website at

http://www.bobsledder.com/

 

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg84336.html

[Armat]

Kudos to them.I've read about them in the last olympic games.Very moving story indeed.

[gurgen]

This surpasses even the Jamaican bobsled team