
USA Bobsled and Skeleton signs endorsement deal with Honda through 2030 Olympics
The deal, announced Wednesday, has been in the works for some time. Honda — which becomes the official premier technology partner of the teams — will give USABS, among other things, access to its wind tunnel in Ohio for research and development purposes.
Such access is crucial when determining optimal sled positioning and other aerodynamic factors in sports where one-hundredth of a second can be the difference between winning and losing. Eventually, the partnership will evolve into sled design as well.
'Long term, they'll be playing a role in helping us design bobsleds,' USABS CEO Aron McGuire told The Associated Press. 'We'll be looking at building four-man sleds initially. They will be providing the aerodynamic expertise and providing us insights, recommendations, into how we can best design a sled as it relates to other factors, like safety of the athletes sitting in the sled and the performance side of the design.'
The teams will also have Acura logos on their sleds for all competitions through the 2030 Games.
'In sports where sleds can reach speeds of over 90 miles per hour and the difference between first and last can be measured in fractions of a second, our Honda engineers are eager to apply their engineering skills and racing background to the USABS programs,' said Larry Geise, the executive vice president of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
Financial specifics were not disclosed, but the deal is one of the more significant in USABS history.
'It's at the top of the cash partners that we've had,' McGuire said.
The news comes at a key time for the programs, with the next Olympics just seven months away. The U.S. has legitimate medal hopes in bobsled and skeleton going into Milan-Cortina; Kaysha Love is the reigning women's monobob champion, women's pilots Kaillie Humphries Armbruster and Elana Meyers Taylor are the two most decorated female drivers in Olympic history, and the American duo of Austin Florian and Mystique Ro won a gold medal in the new mixed team skeleton discipline at the world championships earlier this year.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
15 minutes ago
- Global News
B.C. asks PM Carney to keep softwood on radar as tariff deadline looms
B.C. Premier David Eby says the federal government cannot forget about the fate of British Columbia's softwood lumber industry as the deadline for a trade deal between the United States and Canada is hours away. Aug. 1 is the deadline the United States has set for a trade deal with Canada, and Eby says he hopes his province's softwood lumber industry remains on the 'radar' of Prime Minister Mark Carney as Ottawa continues negotiations. 1:59 No word on Canada-U.S. trade deal progress, as Trump's deadline nears Eby told an unrelated news conference that the industry has been the 'canary in the coal mine' signalling American protectionism, saying Canadian softwood exports have been subject to 'unfair duties' for the 'better part of almost two generations,' well before the current trade dispute triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Story continues below advertisement But Eby says the dispute's long-standing nature does not mean the industry 'should be ignored,' and resolving it could actually help broker a larger deal. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The industry faces combined duties of 34.94 per cent, after the U.S. Department of Commerce hiked anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent. While other industries such as Ontario's automobile sector are important, Eby says the prolonged length of the softwood lumber dispute and pre-existing duties should not lead to the assumption that the industry is not a 'priority.'


Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Eby calls softwood lumber dispute 'canary in the coal mine' of U.S. protectionism
VICTORIA – Premier David Eby says the federal government cannot forget about the fate of British Columbia's softwood lumber industry as the deadline for a trade deal between the United States and Canada is hours away. Aug. 1 is the deadline the United States has set for a trade deal with Canada, and Eby says he hopes his province's softwood lumber industry remains on the 'radar' of Prime Minister Mark Carney as Ottawa continues negotiations. Eby told an unrelated news conference that the industry has been the 'canary in the coal mine' signalling American protectionism, saying Canadian softwood exports have been subject to 'unfair duties' for the 'better part of almost two generations,' well before the current trade dispute triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump. But Eby says the dispute's long-standing nature does not mean the industry 'should be ignored,' and resolving it could actually help broker a larger deal. The industry faces combined duties of 34.94 per cent, after the U.S. Department of Commerce hiked anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. While other industries such as Ontario's automobile sector are important, Eby says the prolonged length of the softwood lumber dispute and pre-existing duties should not lead to the assumption that the industry is not a 'priority.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.


Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Unsettled by NYC shooting, companies wonder if their offices are safe
NEW YORK (AP) — Businesses around the country are reevaluating security after a brazen shooting at a New York City office building raised questions about what it takes to keep workplaces safe. The attack on a seemingly secure building — in a gilded part of Manhattan where the rich live in sprawling apartments and tourists window-shop designer stores — has rattled workers and prompted managers to examine whether they are adequately protected. 'What should we be doing different?' clients are asking, said Brian Higgins, founder of Group 77, a Mahwah, New Jersey, security company that is among those getting peppered with an influx of calls. 'How can we prevent something like this?' The gut reaction of some companies, Higgins said, is to buy the latest technology and blanket their workplace in cameras. But, he cautioned, that's only only effective if paired with consistency and long-term monitoring. 'If you're going to add a security measure … you have to make sure you maintain it,' said Higgins, a former police chief who teaches security at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Four people were killed in the shooting Monday before the gunman died by suicide. Images of the shooter, toting a long rifle on a street in the biggest U.S. city, then terrorizing an office building, have companies desperate to do something to keep the scene from repeating. 'People are frightened, people are asking questions,' said Dave Komendat, the Seattle-based chief security officer at Corporate Security Advisors, where calls are also spiking. With the U.S. locked in a pattern of gun violence virtually unparalleled in the world, security firms are used to the rhythms of the business. While attacks at a corporate office are less commonplace, a major shooting or an attack on an executive focuses attention back on security for a time, before receding. 'Give it a couple weeks, a month or so, it'll go back,' Higgins said of the increased call volume. 'When security issues don't happen for a while and companies start reexamining their budget, security is one of those things that companies cut.' Gene Petrino, CEO of Survival Response in Coral Springs, Florida, has also seen an uptick in calls from potential new customers, but expects it to be fleeting. 'When things are calm it's seen as an expense they don't need right away,' he said, 'and then when a tragedy happens it's a priority again.' Petrino said companies can make changes that aren't intrusive like using cameras with artificial intelligence capabilities to identify weapons. Sometimes, it may just be a matter of improving lighting in a hallway or putting up convex mirrors to see around a corner. 'Everything doesn't have to be bulletproof and locked with security cameras everywhere,' he said. 'You don't have to be Fort Knox. You can have very basic things.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Michael Evanoff, chief security officer of Verkada, a building security company based in San Mateo, California, said technology like AI-enabled cameras to help identify threats have become even more important amid a shortage of guards. 'It's harder than many realize to find and retain trained personnel,' Evanoff said. 'That makes it even more essential that guards are equipped with technology that can extend their reach.' Security at 345 Park Avenue, the site of the shooting, included an off-duty New York Police Department officer working as a guard. He was among those killed. Rudin, the leasing company that manages the building, did not respond to a query about when the building will reopen or whether new security measures will be implemented. No matter what, though, every workplace has vulnerabilities. 'The security team has to be perfect to 100% of the time,' said Komendat, a former chief security officer for Boeing. 'Someone like this just needs to be lucky once.'