Bob from JamaicaStrength, endurance and speed - you need all three of these qualities to push a bobsleigh along a winding ice run. Some also claims you need snow, however I'm not so sure anymore. Allthough not one of the favourites the Jamaican team got Fiat as sponsor for the olympics. So when the snow don't come to Jamaica, Jamaica or at least some jamaicans need to come to the snow.

It's an exercise that requires a lot of training, as the Jamaican national bobsleigh team explained at Turin's Esperimenta science park.The giants are preparing for next year's Olympic event at Sestriere. At Esperimenta there is a track to train for the bobsleigh push-off - organizers hope it will raise public interest in a sport that is not widely practised here. "The push-off is one of the three fundamental elements of a good bobsleigh run," explained Toroc's Sport Competition Manager Ivo Ferriani. "In 40 metres the competitors have to give speed to their vehicle, climb aboard and assume the most aerodynamic position". All this takes places in just five seconds, six maximum. But what's needed for a good push-off? "Explosive power, but also good speed," said Ferriani, who has competed in and trained this sport. "The ideal athlete is a heavy sprinter¿ the movements must be perfect, as you must get inside the limited space of the bob without reducing its momentum." This is why so much training is needed on push-off tracks like the one at Experiementa. There will also be one at the Cesana Pariol complex, which will host the Olympic bob, luge and skeleton competitions. It will be finished by October, along with the rest of the facility. The 1,435 metres of ice along the run will be ready for the start of October. "Two weeks later the Italian national team will test the modifications made to the run," the competition manager explained. In November there will be the World Cup races postponed from last winter, while an international training session will take place November 23-December 3.