Stanley Benham

Stanley "Stan" Delong Benham (December 21, 1913 – April 22, 1970) was an American bobsledder who competed from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, he won silver medals in both the two-man and four-man events.

Benham also won seven medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds (Four-man: 1949, 1950), four silvers (Two-man: 1950, 1951; Four-man: 1951, 1961), and one bronze (Two-man: 1954).

After retiring from bobsleigh, Benham served as a sports official with the FIBT (International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation).

Personal life

A native of Lake Placid, New York, Benham later became a firefighter eventually rising to the rank of Fire Chief, a role he held when the 1949 FIBT World Championships were held in Lake Placid, the first time the bobsleigh World Championships were held outside of Europe. Starting out a ski jumper, he switched to bobsleigh in 1945 when he found ski jumping to be "too tame".

Benham died in 1970 of a heart attack in Miami, Florida at 56.

Legacy

At the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, turn 14 is named in Benham's honor. The turn is called "Benham's Bend."

References

* [http://history.enotes.com/1970-sports-american-decades/deaths 1970s sports deaths featuring Benham]
* [http://sports123.com/bob/mo-2.html Bobsleigh two-man Olympic medalists 1932-56 and since 1964]
* [http://sports123.com/bob/mo-4.html Bobsleigh four-man Olympic medalists for 1924, 1932-56, and since 1964]
* [http://sports123.com/bob/mw-2.html Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931]
* [http://sports123.com/bob/mw-4.html Bobsleigh four-man world championship medalists since 1930]
* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BENHASTA01 DatabaseOlympics.com profile]
* [http://www.orda.org/newsite/events/worldcups/200607/bobskel/team/venueinfo.php Lake Placid, New York venue information] - Click on track map to see Turn 14 named for Benham.
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,853670-2,00.html "TIME" magazine March 7, 1949 article about the 1949 FIBT World Championships featuring Benham] - Accessed July 29, 2007.
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943804,00.html?promoid=googlep "TIME" magazine May 4, 1970 article on Benham's death] - Accessed July 29, 2007.