On Sunday, February 18, at 6:05 a.m. ET, the Olympic Bobsled competition—also known as "bobsleigh"—kicks off at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
At some point in elementary school, you may have celebrated a snow day by going sledding down the biggest hill in your neighborhood. The Olympics take this classic childhood pastime to the next level.
For one, the sled is moving insanely fast—around 80 or 90 miles per hour, which is as fast as a car speeding down the highway. Unlike cars, bobsleds don’t have fancy steering wheels; instead, the driver—called the "pilot"—typically guides the sleigh using two ropes and gravity.
Given this set-up, the occasional crash is inevitable. In the past, professional bobsledders have tragically died on the ice, proving this sport isn't for the casual sledding enthusiast. As USA Today pointed out, many competitions at the Winter Games—Bobsled, Luge, Skeleton, Skiing, and Snowboarding, to name a few—can quickly go from a fun hobby to a serious danger once treacherous weather and high speeds are accounted for. Specifically in bobsledding, every nanosecond counts, and navigating sharp turns across slippery ice is no small feat.
At this year's Games, 16 U.S. bobsledders—four women and 12 men—are vying for the gold.
They will first compete as pairs in separate men's and women's events, then come together for a coed four-person race on Friday, February 23, and Saturday, February 24. Each race lasts approximately one minute, so if you get up for a bathroom break, you could miss the big moment.
The Olympic closing ceremony takes place the following day—Sunday, February 25—so Bobsledding will be one of the last events to close out the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Here's the schedule of Bobsledding events and how you can tune in.
For the entire Olympic Winter Games schedule, click here.
Full Schedule
Sunday, Feb. 18
Two-man: Bobsled runs 1-2 — 6:05 a.m. ET
Monday, Feb. 19
Two-man: Bobsled runs 3-4 — 6:15 a.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Two-woman: Bobsled runs 1-2 — 6:50 a.m. ET
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Two-woman: Bobsled runs 3-4 — 6:40 a.m. ET
Friday, Feb. 23
Four-man: Bobsled runs 1-2 — 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 24
Four-man: Bobsled runs 3-4 — 7:30 p.m. ET
How to Watch on TV
The Olympic Games will all be broadcast on NBC, NBCSN and across NBC Universal networks. For full detailed TV listings, check out NBCOlympics.com.
Here's a full schedule of Olympic events.
How to Live Stream
All events will be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.