Michael Young (born August 15, 1944) is a
Canadian former
bobsledder who competed in the 1960s. He won two medals at the
1965 FIBT World Championships in
St. Moritz
St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...
with a gold in the four-man event and a bronze in the two-man event.
In 1966, he was severely injured during a four-man competition at the
bobsleigh track in
Lake Placid, New York when his sled hit the superstructure of the track at Turns 13 and 14, known as the "Zig-Zag Curves", damaging his face. Young was rushed to the
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
in Lake Placid, then flown to a hospital in
Montreal to undergo extensive
plastic surgery. This crash killed his compatriot
Sergio Zardini and also featured future
FIBT president
Robert H. Storey
Robert H. Storey (born December 3, 1942) is a Canadian bobsledder who competed from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s who later became a businessman and chairman to two communication companies in Canada. Storey served as fourth president of the F� ...
.
Young got involved with
bobsleigh, after being introduced to the sport by his cousin
Vic Emery
Victor Emery (born June 28, 1933) is a Canadian athlete and businessman. Emery was born in Montreal, Quebec. He is a gold medallist in the four man bobsleigh pilot from the 1964 Olympic Winter Games, as well as the 1965 World Championships.
Invo ...
while studying at the
University of Western Ontario. Young and the rest of the four-man crew would be honored in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Young also finished 17th in the four-man event at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
in
Grenoble.
Born in
Port Credit, Ontario, Young emigrated to the
United States in 1975, settling in
Denver, Colorado. Young then moved to
Dallas, Texas where he is a business consultant.
Youn was inducted into the
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...
in 1965.
References
1968 bobsleigh four-man results
- Accessed August 12, 2007.
1944 births
Living people
Canadian male bobsledders
Bobsledders at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from Denver
Sportspeople from Dallas
Sportspeople from Mississauga
University of Western Ontario alumni
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Olympic bobsledders of Canada
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