7 bobsled coaches, from Christoph Langen to Brian Shimer and Pierre Lueders, each with achievements, years active, teams coached and nationality.
Achievements, years active, teams coached and nationality stand under every entry, which is enough to see whether a career was long, decorated or both. The sequence is our judgement about bobsledding, and the questions at the foot of the page cover the rest.
If you are working through the subject more broadly, we keep the same kind of list for bobsledding books and bobsledding films and documentaries.
Best Bobsledding Coaches:
- Christoph Langen
- Todd Hays
- Pierre Lueders
- Brian Shimer
- Sandra Kiriasis
- Sandis Prusis
- Manuel Machata
#1 Christoph Langen
- 🏆 Achievements: Multiple Olympic and World Championship medals as an athlete and coach
- 📅 Years Active: Coaching since 2006
- 👕 Teams Coached: German national bobsleigh team
- 🌐 Nationality: German
Christoph Langen, as a former bobsledder himself, transitioned from athlete to coach, bringing a wealth of experience to his role with the German national team. He has been instrumental in guiding the team to secure medals at both the Olympic games and World Championships.
Langen’s deep understanding of the sport, gained through his successful career as a bobsledder where he earned Olympic gold, allows him to provide his athletes with keen insights. His coaching philosophy involves focusing on precision, technique, and developing a strong team dynamic.
His leadership has not only continued Germany’s strong legacy in bobsledding but also ensured its position as a powerhouse in the sport. Langen’s ability to foster talent and maintain a high level of performance among his athletes highlights his exceptional coaching prowess.
#2 Todd Hays
- 🏆 Achievements: Revitalized the US bobsleigh team as a coach
- 📅 Years Active: Coaching since 2014
- 👕 Teams Coached: USA Bobsled team
- 🌐 Nationality: American
Todd Hays, a former bobsledder turned coach, is credited with breathing new life into the US bobsleigh team. Although his coaching career has been relatively short so far, his impact on the team has been notable, particularly in improving their international standings.
Having competed as a bobsledder, Hays understands the rigor and challenges of the sport, using this knowledge to cultivate strong, competitive athletes. His tenure is marked by a dedication to physical conditioning and strategic innovation.
Hays’ influence has been fundamental in reshaping the US bobsleigh team’s training regime and competitive approach, setting them on a path to renewed success in international competitions.
#3 Pierre Lueders
- 🏆 Achievements: Olympic gold medalist turned coach
- 📅 Years Active: Coaching since 2010
- 👕 Teams Coached: Canadian bobsleigh team, Russian bobsleigh team
- 🌐 Nationality: Canadian
Pierre Lueders transferred his extraordinary achievements as an Olympic bobsledder into a coaching career that has seen him guide both Canadian and Russian bobsleigh teams to success. His diverse experience brings an international perspective to his coaching style.
Lueders combines his technical expertise with a hands-on approach, using his first-hand experience as a bobsledder to connect with and develop his athletes. Under his tutelage, teams have improved their performance and consistency on the international stage.
As a coach, Lueders has been committed to advancing the sport of bobsledding, establishing him as a respected figure in the bobsledding community and beyond.
#4 Brian Shimer
- 🏆 Achievements: Head coach of the United States men’s bobsled team and from 2014 of the women’s team as well, after an Olympic bronze medal as a driver.
- 📅 Years Active: 2002 to at least 2014
- 👕 Teams Coached: The United States national bobsled teams
- 🌐 Nationality: United States
Shimer drove at five Olympic Games before he won anything, and the bronze he finally took in Salt Lake City 2002 came in his last race. He moved straight into coaching the programme he had just left.
As head coach he oversaw the American push and driving groups through two Olympic cycles, taking on the women’s team as well in 2014. His own long apprenticeship as a driver is what his athletes came for.
#5 Sandra Kiriasis
- 🏆 Achievements: Drove Jamaica’s women’s bobsled team to its first Olympic qualification, for Pyeongchang 2018, as its driving coach.
- 📅 Years Active: 2017 to 2018
- 👕 Teams Coached: The Jamaican women’s bobsled team
- 🌐 Nationality: Germany
Kiriasis was the most successful female bobsled driver in the sport before she started coaching, with Olympic gold in 2006 and a shelf of world titles. She took on the Jamaican women’s team when it had almost no track time.
The team qualified for Pyeongchang 2018, the first time a Jamaican women’s crew had made the Olympic field. The partnership ended in a public dispute shortly before the Games, but the qualification stands.
#6 Sandis Prusis
- 🏆 Achievements: Head coach of the Latvian national bobsled team for almost two decades, in which time Oskars Melbardis won Olympic gold and a world title.
- 📅 Years Active: 2006 to 2025 in Latvia, 2004 to 2006 in Italy
- 👕 Teams Coached: The Latvian national team, in particular Oskars Melbardis
- 🌐 Nationality: Latvia
Latvia is a country of under two million people with one bobsled track, and under Prusis it beat Germany, Russia and the United States regularly. That is the whole case for him as a coach.
Oskars Melbardis took four man gold from the Sochi 2014 Games after the original result was corrected, and won the world title at Igls in 2016. Prusis stayed in the job for nineteen years.
#7 Manuel Machata
- 🏆 Achievements: Took charge of building the Chinese bobsled team in preparation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
- 📅 Years Active: 2015 to today
- 👕 Teams Coached: The Chinese national bobsled team
- 🌐 Nationality: Germany
Machata was world champion as a driver in 2011 and went to China to build a programme that did not exist, in a country with no bobsled tradition and at the time no track. The job was recruitment, translation and technique from zero.
Chinese crews qualified for Beijing 2022 in both the two man and four man events. Programmes like this rarely get credit, because the results look modest next to the alpine nations, but the starting point was nothing.
FAQ
Who is the greatest bobsledding coach of all time?
There is no settled answer, but Sandis Prusis has the strongest case: nineteen years in charge of Latvia, a country with one track, and an Olympic gold and world title for Oskars Melbardis out of it.
Who was the most successful bobsledding coach?
Measured in Olympic medals won by his athletes, Pierre Lueders, who coached Russia to two golds in Sochi 2014 and then took South Korea to four man silver in Pyeongchang 2018, the first Olympic bobsled medal for an Asian team.
