Training camps to help veterans with disabilities are being held by the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation ©USBSF

A new grant awarded to the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF) is to be used to help American veterans prepare for bobsleigh's debut on the Paralympic programme.

The USBSF was last week awarded $79,000 (£61,000/€71,000) as part of 126 United States Department of Veterans Affairs grants totaling $14.8 million (£11.5 million/€13.3 million).

John Rosen, acting chief executive of USBSF, revealed they will use the money to stage training camps for veterans with disabilities to learn the sports of bobsled and skeleton.

"Skeleton is a rather insane sport in which athletes slide head first on a small sled down the bobsled track," he told the Watertown Daily Times and Northern New York Newspapers.

"These guys hit speeds close to 90 miles an hour with their chins four inches off the ice."

Plans to include bobsleigh at Beijing 2022 were shelved and it is now expected to be included on the programme for Milan Cortina 2026. 

It had hoped bobsleigh would make its debut on the Paralympic programme at Beijing 2022 but it is now likely to appear for the first time at Milan Cortina 2026 ©Cure Medical
It had hoped bobsleigh would make its debut on the Paralympic programme at Beijing 2022 but it is now likely to appear for the first time at Milan Cortina 2026 ©Cure Medical

"These athletes are working very, very hard to become qualified for the Paralympic Winter Games," Rosen told the Watertown Daily Times and Northern New York Newspapers.. 

"We are looking for serious, elite athletes who want to aspire to the highest level of sport competition."

It is hoped the new funding will pay for three training camps, startint doay. 

"These are very intense sports," Rosen said. 

"They appeal to a certain segment of the population and not to others, but it is our goal to treat these athletes as real athletes in a real sport."