Romania national bobsleigh team

The rise of the bobsleigh began in 1923, when several competitions with prizes were held: the title of national champion went to the team of the Club "Colțea" from Bucharest.

Iorgu Arsenie built a bobsleigh christened Avalanșa (avalanche) and together with Tita Rădulescu reached Chamonix, where they participated in the races with a borrowed bobsleigh (Bachmann type) and won three cups; however, they were unable to participate in the Olympic competition because the rules required the entire crew to be from the same country, a condition they were unable to meet.

[3] In 1925, the first bobsled track was built in Sinaia according to the design of engineer Sângiorzan, on a western slope of the Furnica hill, with a length of 2,100 m and ten curves.

The recognition of his skill was confirmed in 1928, when, together with Dumitru Hubert, they won the title of national champions in the two-man race.

[3] Performances in 1926-1928 stimulated interest and led to the presence of the Romanian five-man bobsleigh at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, although the expenses were borne by the athletes from their own savings.

[3] The first famous Romanian bobber was Alexandru Papană, national bobsleigh champion in 1928 and 1931 and winner of the FIBT World Championships 1933 in Schreiberhau, Germany (now Szklarska Poręba, Poland), along with Dumitru Hubert.

[4] The Romanian crew used ropes instead of a steering wheel and made a "flying start" (one of the first at the time), for which they had patented a special push handle on the bobsleigh.

After 1970, a modern concrete track was built in Sinaia, which entered the circuit of international competitions, organizing the annual "Carpathian Trophy" (Trofeul Carpați).

[3] Romania was designated as the host venue for the 1977 European Bobsleigh Championships, however warm weather melted the snow on the course, preventing the competition from taking place.