Team USA’s two-person bobsleds were estimated to be worth about $200,000 each—but that was not a documented purchase price, and it does not prove the sleds made the team faster. In a February 2026 Forbes report, USA Bobsled/Skeleton equipment director Marc Van Den Berg described the value of the sleds, including donated design work, materials and machining. The report was a pre-Games account; it did not establish a measured performance advantage or an outcome caused by the equipment.
What the $200,000 estimate actually represents
The estimate applies to the value of each U.S. two-person sled described in the Forbes report. It is not a confirmed amount Team USA paid, nor an independently assessed market valuation. Some of the sleds’ development and production inputs came as contributions of time, materials and machining.
Van Den Berg said competitive two-man sleds can cost upwards of $90,000 and four-man sleds around $140,000. These are separate equipment estimates, not interchangeable prices: the $200,000 figure concerns the U.S. two-person sleds and includes contributed work and inputs that may not have been purchased at a cash price.
Forbes reported that industrial designer Cameron Dempster worked on the “Made in USA,” or “M-USA,” effort, and that Advance Mfg. in Massachusetts and deBotech in North Carolina contributed time, materials and machining. The effort began years before the Games after dissatisfaction with inherited equipment. At least six sleds needed to be ready for the Games, while the broader program target was 20; the reported $200,000 estimate should not be applied automatically to every sled in that target.
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The sled is only part of the equipment bill
A sled’s headline value does not capture the cost of making it race-ready or moving it between venues. Forbes reported that four strips of runner steel cost about $20,000, and that teams may carry multiple runner sets to suit ice conditions or temperatures. The same report said a sled may travel with five sets. Freight and transport are additional expenses.
Separate USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation pages offer two different views of costs; their figures have different scopes and the pages do not state a publication year. The Foundation’s impact page gives an average yearly cost of $34,450 to develop one bobsled athlete. Its giving page gives an average annual cost of $383,020 to develop a five-athlete bobsled team, with a breakdown that includes $95,000 for the sled, $48,000 for four runner sets and $20,500 for sled shipping. These presentations should not be combined into one uniform accounting or treated as a universal bill for every team.
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| Published figure | What it describes | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| About $200,000 | Estimated value of each U.S. two-person sled in the report | Marc Van Den Berg, as reported by Forbes in February 2026; includes contributed effort and materials, not a verified cash purchase |
| Upwards of $90,000 | Competitive two-man sled | Van Den Berg, as reported by Forbes in 2026 |
| Around $140,000 | Competitive four-man sled | Van Den Berg, as reported by Forbes in 2026 |
| About $20,000 | Four strips of runner steel | Forbes, 2026; teams may carry multiple sets |
| $34,450 | Average yearly cost to develop one bobsled athlete | USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation; year not stated on the page |
| $383,020 | Average annual cost to develop a five-athlete bobsled team | USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation; year not stated on the page |
Why equipment costs matter to athletes
The Foundation says the federation’s annual operating budget primarily covers the highest-ranked athletes who qualify for World Cup competition. Emerging athletes may depend on part-time work, personal sponsorship, and help from family or friends. Its stated purpose includes easing the financial burden on emerging athletes, and eligibility for equipment allocation, race and training opportunities, or funding can depend on selection to the Emerging Elite Athlete Program.
The Foundation also says many athletes personally purchase and ship sleds and equipment. That helps explain why equipment and logistics matter beyond a single headline price, but a five-athlete team budget is not a price list for every athlete or national team.
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What engineering support was reported
In July 2025, American Honda and USA Bobsled/Skeleton announced a multi-year partnership. The Associated Press reported that support included technology and financial assistance and access to Honda’s Ohio wind tunnel. It also reported that longer-term involvement in sled design was planned, while financial specifics were not disclosed. That announcement is distinct from the named donations of time, materials and machining reported for the M-USA sled effort; the available reporting does not establish that Honda supplied those contributions.
Does a more expensive sled make a team faster?
Not by itself, and the available reporting does not establish that these sleds created a measurable edge or caused any race result. Cost and engineering resources indicate investment, not a quantified speed gain. A credible performance claim would need comparable measurements or race evidence that accounts for factors such as the athletes, track, ice and conditions; the reported estimate alone cannot answer that question.
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Equipment also operates within rules. The Milano Cortina 2026 competition format document says sleds and clothing must comply with IBSF and IOC regulations, and that teams may propel a sled only during the start before gravity carries it. For the event described in that document, the maximum athletes-and-equipment weight was 390.5 kg (860 lb). Those rules set boundaries for legal equipment; they do not show that one compliant design is faster than another.
The 2026 format included four bobsleigh events. The $200,000 estimate in the Forbes account concerns two-person sleds; it should not be generalized to four-man or monobob equipment.
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What was—and was not—known about the Games
Before the Games, Van Den Berg said the team had “a good chance of winning medals in Italy—without spending a single dollar,” referring to the donated contributions behind the sled effort. That was a pre-event assessment, not confirmation of a medal or proof that the equipment produced an advantage. Forbes also quoted him comparing the need for competitive equipment to show jumping: “If you’re going to the Olympics for show jumping, you’re not going to take a pony.” It is an analogy about the importance of equipment, not evidence of a measured bobsled performance effect.
USA Bobsled/Skeleton announced its selected athletes for the Milano Cortina Games on January 19, 2026. The announcement establishes roster context, but not which sled each athlete used or how a particular sled performed. The available sources here do not provide verified post-Games results tied to these sleds, so no medal total or causal claim about an edge can be drawn from them.
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