Calgary ’88: Tracey’s bob dream slips away

The story begins on water and ends on ice. Henley, Oxfordshire, July 1986. Gerry Macken and Pat McDonagh, from Dublin’s Neptune Rowing Club, were training for the town’s prestigious regatta.

One morning, they came across a letter stuck to their boat. It was a casting call. A guy called Larry Tracey wanted to start an Irish bobsleigh team. His contact details were attached.

Bobsleigh? Who was this guy? Tracey was a UK entrepreneur and sports enthusiast who was desperately trying to satisfy a new-found addiction. The year before, his wife had given him a gift of a week-long bobsleigh course at the St. Moritz track in Switzerland. He got a taste for it and wanted more. A few months later, he visited the Olympic venue at Innsbruck but wasn’t allowed race. The track was for international drivers only, he was told.