Bobsleigh and skeleton could be re-established as "active sports" in Denmark as part of a new initiative by the national federation ©IBSF

Bobsleigh and skeleton could be re-established as "active sports" in Denmark as part of a new initiative by the national governing body. 

For the revival, Bob, Skeleton and Kælk Danmark President Tom Johansen is relying on a cooperation with the Danish Athletics Federation (DAF) and on the support of Olympic champion Bernhard Lehmann and his former bobsleigh colleagues.

Most recently, Danish athletes were active in the international racing series in the 2005-2006 season.

"All of our former bobsleigh athletes came from track and field," Johansen, a pilot for Denmark, said.

"That's why we came up with the idea of joining forces with the DAF.

"We were immediately welcomed very positively, forward-looking and actively there and after the Board gave its okay, we are now formally part of the Danish track and field programme."

DAF managing director Jakob Larsen added: "We also need new impulses and ideas in order to exploit all possibilities for the future.

"We hope that the creative and determined energy of the former Danish bobsleigh team will be recreated, inspiring other athletes.

"That's why we give bob and skeleton sport a place with us."

Germany's Olympic gold medal-winning bobsledder Bernhard Lehmann, pictured competing at Calgary 1988, is supporting the initiative to try to revive the sport in Denmark ©Getty Images
Germany's Olympic gold medal-winning bobsledder Bernhard Lehmann, pictured competing at Calgary 1988, is supporting the initiative to try to revive the sport in Denmark ©Getty Images

One of the first Danish junior athletes could be Johansen’s son, Rasmus Vestergård.

He is 16-years-old and, as the son of a former bobsleigh pilot, grew up with the sport.

"At the age of 12, Rasmus said that he would like to try it," Johansen said.

"Last year, he tried skeleton and monobob for the first time and had a lot of fun."

As an active decathlete, Rasmus Vestergård Johansen is considered to have the best athletic conditions for the ice track and is aiming to qualify for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne as a first major step.

He is supported by Germany's Lehmann, with whom his family has been friends for years.

Lehmann, who will celebrating his 70th birthday in November, won Olympic gold in the four-man bobsleigh when pushing pilot Meinhard Nehmer at Innsbruck 1976.

As a bobsleigh pilot, he won three more Olympic medals, the two-man event at the 1983 European Championships and the four-man event at the 1985 World Championships.

As a coach, Lehmann worked with German athletes Sandra Kiriasis, the two-woman Olympic bobsleigh gold medallist at Turin 2006, and Jacqueline Lölling, the women’s skeleton silver medallist at Pyeongchang 2018.