Sliding into a cool new era

China's skeleton pilots, bobsledders getting a boost

With homegrown athletes catching up to the rest of the world and a world-class track taking shape, bobsled and skeleton are making big strides in China - and the boss of the sports' world governing body is taking notice.

As president of the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, retired Italian bobsledder Ivo Ferriani is no stranger to the complexity of developing the highly-technical sports, guiding the French national team to multiple world championships in the 1990s and serving as event manager for all sliding disciplines at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.