Lake Placid (RWH) The “Hall of Fame” of the US Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation ((USABS) has six new members. Vonetta Flowers, Tristan Gale Geisler, Randy Jones, Steve Mesler, James "Nitro" Morgan and Geoff Bodine were inducted into the illustrious circle at an official induction ceremony after the BMW IBSF World Cup in Lake Placid, as the US federation has now announced.
The USABS Hall of Fame recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport of bobsleigh and skeleton. Their dedication and commitment as athletes and supporters of USABS will be forever honoured by induction into the Hall of Fame.
Vonetta Flowers went down in history as the first African American gold medallist in the Winter Olympics when she won in 2-woman bobsleigh as Jill Bakken's pusher in 2002. Tristan Gale Geisler also won the Olympic premiere in women's skeleton in 2002.
Steve Mesler took Olympic gold in the 4-man bobsleigh driven by Steven Holcomb. Randy Jones sat in Todd Hayes' 4-man bobsleigh, which won the first US bobsleigh medal since 1956 in Salt Lake City 2002. James Morgan was the best American bobsleigh pilot at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck in the 2-man and 4-man bobsleighs. He lost his life during the 1981 World Bobsleigh Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Geoff Bodine, a former NASCAR driver and 1986 Daytona 500 winner, founded the design of US bobsleds with race car designer Bob Cuneo. "Bo-Dyn bobs" first appeared at the 1994 Winter Olympics. The most famous Bo-Dyn sled was the "Night Train", which was driven to the 2010 Olympic gold medal by the late Steven Holcomb.
Title photo: USABS / James Reed
Photos: USABS
