Stanley Benham

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Medal record
Bobsleigh
Olympic Games
Silver 1952 Oslo Two-man
Silver 1952 Oslo Four-man
World Championships
Gold 1949 Lake Placid Four-man
Gold 1950 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man
Silver 1950 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man
Silver 1951 Alpe d'Huez Two-man
Silver 1951 Alpe d'Huez Four-man
Silver 1961 Lake Placid Four-man
Bronze 1954 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man

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).

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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."

[edit] References


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World champions in four-man bobsleigh
1930: Italy - Franco Zaninetta, Giorgio Biasini, Antonio Dorini, & Gino Rossi * 1931: Germany - Werner Zahn, Robert Schmidt, Franz Bock, & Emil Hinterfeld * 1933: Not held * 1934: Germany - Hanns Kilian, Fritz Schwarz, Hermann von Valta, & Sebastian Huber * 1935: Germany - Hanns Kilian, Alexander Gruber, Hermann von Valta, & Sebastian Huber * 1937: Great Britain - Frederick McEvoy, David Looker, Charles Green, & Byran Black * 1938: Great Britain - Frederick McEvoy, David Looker, Charles Green, & Chris MacKintosh * 1939: Switzerland - Fritz Feierabend, Heinz Cattani, Alphonse Hörning, & Joseph Beerli * 1947: Switzerland - Fritz Feierabend, Heinz Cattani, Alphonse Hörning, & Joseph Beerli * 1949: United States - Stanley Benham, Patrick Martin, William Casey, & William D'Amico * 1950: United States - Stanley Benham, Patrick Martin, James Atkinson, & William D'Amico * 1951: West Germany - Andreas Ostler, Xavier Leitl, Michael Pössinger, & Lorenz Nieberl * 1953: United States - Lloyd Johnson, Piet Biesiadecki, Hubert Miller, & Joseph Smith * 1954: Switzerland - Fritz Feierabend, Harry Warburton, Gottfried Diener, & Heinrich Angst * 1955: Switzerland - Franz Kapus, Gottfried Diener, Robert Alt, & Heinrich Angst * 1957: Switzerland - Hans Zoller, Hans Theler, Rolf Küderli, & Heinz Leu * 1958: West Germany - Hans Rösch, Alfred Hammer, Theodore Bauer, & Walter Haller * 1959: United States - Arthur Tyler, Gary Sheffield, Parker Voorhis, & Thomas Butler * 1960: Italy - Eugenio Monti, Furio Nordio, Sergio Siorpaes, & Renzo Alverà * 1961: Italy - Eugenio Monti, Sergio Siorpaes, Furio Nordio, & Renzo Alverà * 1962: West Germany - Franz Schelle, Josef Sterff, Ludwig Siebert, & Otto Göbl * 1963: Italy - Sergio Zardini, Ferruccio Dalla Torre, Renato Mocellini, & Romano Bonagura * 1965: Canada - Vic Emery, Gerald Presley, Michael Young, & Peter Kirby * 1966: West Germany - Toni Pensperger (posthumous), Ludwig Siebert, Helmut Werzer, & Roland Ebert * 1967: Cancelled to weather conditions * 1969: West Germany - Wolfgang Zimmerer, Peter Utzschneider, Walter Steinbauer, & Stefan Gaisreiter * 1970: Italy - Nevio de Zordo, Roberto Zandonella, Mario Armano, & Luciano de Paolis * 1971: Switzerland - René Stadler, Max Forster, Erich Schärer, & Peter Schärer * 1973: Switzerland - René Stadler, Werner Carmichel, Erich Schärer, & Peter Schärer * 1974: West Germany - Wolfgang Zimmerer, Peter Utzschneider, Manfred Schumann, & Albert Wurzer * 1975: Switzerland - Erich Schärer, Peter Schärer, Werner Carmichel, & Joseph Benz * 1977: East Germany - Meinhard Nehmer, Bernhard Germeshausen, Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt, & Raimund Bethge * 1978: East Germany - Horst Schönau, Horst Bernhard, Harald Seifert, & Bogdan Musiol * 1979: West Germany - Stefan Gaisreiter, Dieter Gebard, Hans Wagner, & Heinz Busche * 1981: East Germany - Bernhard Germeshausen, Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt, Henry Gerlach, & Michael Trübner * 1982: Switzerland - Silvio Giobellina, Heinz Stettler, Urs Salzmann, & Rico Freiermuth * 1983: Switzerland - Ekkehard Fasser, Hans Märcy, Kurt Poletti, & Rolf Strittmatter * 1985: East Germany - Bernhard Lehmann, Matthias Trübner, Ingo Voge, & Steffen Grummt * 1986: Switzerland - Erich Schärer, Kurt Meier, Erwin Fassbind, & André Kisser * 1987: Switzerland - Hans Hiltebrand, Urs Fehlmann, Erwin Fassbind, & André Kisser * 1989: Switzerland - Gustav Weder, Curdin Morell, Bruno Gerber, & Lorenz Schindelholz * 1990: Switzerland - Gustav Weder, Bruno Gerber, Lorenz Schindelholz, & Curdin Morell * 1991: Germany - Wolfgang Hoppe, Bogdan Musiol, Axel Kühn, & Christoph Langen * 1993: Switzerland - Gustav Weder, Donat Acklin, Kurt Meier, & Domenico Semeraro * 1995: Germany - Wolfgang Hoppe, Rene Hannemann, Ulf Hielscher, & Carsten Embach * 1996: Germany - Christoph Langen, Markus Zimmermann, Sven Rühr, & Olaf Hampel * 1997: Germany - Wolfgang Hoppe, Sven Rühr, Rene Hannemann, & Carsten Embach * 1999: France - Bruno Mingeon, Emmanuel Hostache, Éric Le Chanony, & Max Robert * 2000: Germany - André Lange, René Hoppe, Lars Behrendt, & Carsten Embach * 2001: Germany - Christoph Langen, Markus Zimmermann, Sven Peter, & Alex Metzger * 2003: Germany - André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, & Carsten Embach * 2004: Germany - André Lange, Udo Lehmann, Kevin Kuske, & René Hoppe * 2005: Germany - André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, & Martin Putze * 2007: Switzerland - Ivo Rüegg, Thomas Lamparter, Beat Hefti, & Cedric Grand * 2008: Germany - André Lange, René Hoppe, Kevin Kuske, & Martin Putze