Women’s bobsledding did not begin in 2002. In 1940, the 24-year-old Katharin Dewey was the winning driver in the 1940 U.S. Championships held at Mount Van Hoevenberg, a feat so embarrassing for the very male sport that women were banned from competition for decades. While from time to time, women did learn and get licensed to drive the New York Conservation sleds, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a push began to establish all-women teams and competitions, supported in particular at the time by Olympic driver Bob Said (1968 and 1972 Olympics) and Allen Hachigian, who won bronze in the 1969 FIBT World Championships held in Placid.

“Lois Hollan, Lisa Yanchitis and Betsy Napier were three leaders in women bobsledding at the beginning in Lake Placid; they helped get it started,” said Tony Carlino. “In the early days, the late 1970s and early 1980s, we men were a bit chauvinistic. Half of it was a bit tongue-in-cheek. We’d say, here’s the sled, the truck to take you up and have at it. It was a tough struggle for them at the beginning; the men weren’t supportive, overall, in a wide range of sports across the United States.”

“Their initial goal was the half-mile, which was pretty challenging on a fast day,” Carlino continued. “A lot tried, a lot left, but not Hollan, Napier and Yanchitis. They were determined. There was not a lot of equipment, so their sleds were not high caliber. And they faced the challenge of the track management. Jim Lamy was not supportive; he was an obstacle to anything different, which included Boris Said’s effort to design a faster sled.”

Hollan said that the TV program “PM Magazine” requested to film women bobsledding, which led her and others to become trained by the New York State Conservation drivers, Hachigian and Said, initially using the old wheeled sleds. Holland had no desire to drive until a friend talked her into sitting in the front seat, and they then pushed her off. She found the experience so exhilarating that she soon became one of ten women drivers.

“Jim Lamy hated the whole thing,” said Hollan. “He detested the idea of women drivers. He didn’t like it at all. Hachigian convinced him we should have the first all-women’s bobsled race at the 1983 World Championships. The international officials were amazed when we took off our helmets, and they saw our long hair; they highlighted our accomplishments at the closing ceremony. That race planted the international interest in women bobsledding, but Lamy banned women from the track the next year. Fortunately, Sigi Feuser carried the idea to Calgary, and the sport continued there.”

“The early efforts in Placid aside, the Calgary track was the true launch pad for women’s competitive bobsledding,” said John Morgan. “That’s because the women didn’t have access to our track in the 1980s and 1990s. Consequently, the sport shifted to Calgary in the mid 1990s. The men were afraid that the women would take away sponsors. That was one of the problems they faced in getting accepted.”

Women sliding and racing in Calgary and Europe inspired the U.S. Bobsled Federation to get back into the sport. As Lamy was no longer managing the track, Lake Placid, once again under the leadership of track manager Tom Colby, became the center of women’s bobsledding.

“In 1993, I watched men bobsled on ESPN. It looked amazing, and I looked for the women. They weren’t there,” said Alexandra Allred. “I researched and learned that women had been banned from the sport since 1940 and started making phone calls. I didn’t know that the U.S. Bobsled Federation had been putting out ads looking for women wanting to learn the sport. So, between my sister and I just decided to do it and other women seeing the ads, we all converged on Lake Placid in January 1994 and, starting with push camps, learned to drive from the half mile.”

“I was in Florida when I saw the film ‘Cool Runnings,’ and I told my mom, who was visiting, I think I want to go to Lake Placid and do that,” said Nancy Lang Houghton. “So I called the federation, and they said to come up and see how it goes. I became part of the first camp. And now it’s exciting to see that it’s still going and how well the women are doing. When I started, it was so new, and everything was so difficult. But the guys were all so helpful.”

For those who started in the 1990s, Tony Carlino, Joey Kilbourn from Canada, Tuffy LaTour, Brian Shimer, Greg Sun from the Trinidad team and Jeff Woodward were among the many men they praised for their support.

A ski racer addicted to speed, Jill Bakken first tried out for luge but was told she was too old at 16 to compete. She then turned to bobsledding when she was told the federation was holding a training camp.

“I’m here now to help Alex get Icebreakers, the documentary on women’s bobsledding, started,” said Jill Bakken. “In Salt Lake, we had the advantage that it was our home track, so I came to the race determined to take advantage of that, and we did. Being here, it’s neat meeting the new leaders of our sport; they are all so talented.”

The feelings were mutual. Kaysha Love, who won the driver’s push start, said, “Meeting these women is so cool. These women are so amazing. They started all of this. Being surrounded by them is very fulfilling. We are so proud of them. What they all went through to get this sport accepted, I hope I can measure up.”

“These women paved the way for us,” said Azaria Hill. “We are so fortunate to have their shoulders to stand on.

“I give Lake Placid so much credit because it’s the heart of the sport in this continent, and they always will be,” said Lois Hollan. “Though the culture was somewhat primitive in the 1970s and 1980s, it was deep and valuable.”

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(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley and has been writing his column for the Lake Placid News since 2005.)