Bobsled Malfunction Briefly Sends Sled Flying Down The Track With The Handle Sticking Out

In a momentarily terrifying moment, a Russian bobsled malfunctioned during the third women's bobsled heat at the Sochi Olympics.

The push bar on the Russian sled piloted by Nadezhda Sergeeva didn't retract back into the sled after the initial push. For a few seconds the sled was flying down the track with the bar sticking out.

Luckily, they were traveling at a slow speed and only had to go around one turn, so it didn't do any damage to the track or the athletes.

Here's the sequence...

The start:

All was going according to plan:

This is when the bar is supposed to fall back into the sled:

Instead it got stuck:

The first turn. The bar scratches the top of the wall:

It was stuck for seven seconds:

Finally it fixed itself before it could do much harm, but the team finished with one of the worst times in the heat: