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Bobsleigh Athlete Testing at Okanagan Peak Performance

A while ago we did something really cool at Okanagan Peak Performance. We ran a number of athletes through the Bobsleigh Decathalon Camp which is a number of tests the National team uses to identify potential athletes to compete in this sport for Canada. So what tests are we talking about? Here's the list. 1. 40yd dash - x2 attempts 2. Standing Triple Jump - x3 attempts 3. Overhead Backwards Throw - x3 attempts (4kg-women; 5kg-men) 4. Squat Toss - x3 attempts (4kg-women; 5kg-men) 5. 40yd sled pull - x2 attempts (sled + 10kg-women; sled + 20kg men; sled is approx 3kg) 6. Standing Hurdle Jump - 3 misses at a height and you are out 7. Power Clean - 1RM 8. Bench 225lbs x reps (95lbs for women) And when I say 'we'  I should clarify it was Chris Le Bihan who put the athletes through the various tests. Chris is former National Bobsleigh team member who won bronze in the 2010 Olympics and we're lucky to have him training at our facility. This was a huge bonus for the athletes as they had someone who is not only passionate about sport and athletics but has 'been-there-done-that'. His opinion carries a lot of weight due to the success he has had on the World Cup and Olympic stage in his sport. I won't go through all the test we covered but will describe two in particular. The first was the fourty yard timed sprint. We used timing gates for this test meaning the athletes' times were as accurate as possible. They would pass through the light beam to start the time and then run through the gate at the opposite end to stop the clock. It was fun to break down various aspects of the athletes sprint technique. What were...

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