Latest news with #bobsleigh
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
British bobsleigh's Brad Hall: ‘Winning medals without sacrifice doesn't mean anything'
For most athletes, a loss of all funding would signal the end. But for Brad Hall, Team GB's bobsleigh captain, it was the beginning of a remarkable comeback story. The 34-year-old speaks about the financial shakedown of British bobsleigh with remarkable calm, as if it was a hurdle most professionals faced. 'I'll have to take you back in time a little bit,' he says, reflecting on a period that could have ended his career. 'We got a year of transitional funding until the 2019 world championships where we were told if we got top three we're able to maintain our funding. But we finished fourth.' It was a moment that would redefine not just his career but the structure of British bobsleigh. In 2019 UK Sport withdrew funding for the programme, leaving the team in a precarious position. It led Hall, who found out in his bedroom from a news article, to take matters into his own hands, launching a crowdfunding campaign. The grassroots effort blossomed into Team Bobsleigh Brad, a self-funded entity operating with no official funding or support apart from private sponsors and donors. 'It was very disappointing at the time, but it was the best thing for us because it allowed us to rebuild the programme until the 2022 Games where I was pretty much running everything myself,' Hall says of the Beijing Winter Olympics. 'I was planning the season, the logistics, the athletes, the selection. It was very stressful going into those Games. 'We finished sixth, which was disappointing at the time, but it was enough to bring back the UK Sport national lottery funding. That was key to our success in the following years. It allowed us to bring in coaches who could do most of the jobs I was doing beforehand so I could focus on my performances.' The return of funding sparked an unprecedented era of success for British bobsleigh. In 2023, Hall's team clinched Britain's first European four-man title and a four‑man world championship silver, the country's first since 1939. Hall also secured Britain's first two‑man World Cup medal in more than 30 years with a silver in Igls in January 2020. 'The first year after the Olympics, we took off and won medals all over the place. We won three gold medals at the European championships, which had never been done before by a GB athlete, and we took that forward for the next few years.' This period of self-reliance transformed him as an athlete despite the added pressures. 'Before we lost our funding I had a lot of ideas. I was like: 'Why are we doing things this way?' And every time I used to question management, my opinion wasn't validated. It was like: 'You don't know what you're talking about.' But when we lost funding I was allowed to make these decisions and we saw improvement immediately. So I knew I was on to something.' Fostering a positive team culture was the first step, especially in a sport where individual performance is so visible. 'It's a lot to do with the athletes' selection in the first place. A lot are quite selfish, but they've got to understand this is a team sport. 'As a pilot it's a bit different because my position isn't as threatened. Because I'm running the team, I'm always going to be selected. The brakemen's heads were on the chopping board week-in and week-out. It's very difficult to support your teammates when you know they could get the spot ahead of you. But if everyone's helping, everyone gets better. 'It's trying to shift focus from we want to be the best on this team or the best in Great Britain to we want to be the best in the world. Competition's out there, it's not in here.' Team GB have their work cut out for them when it comes to competition, particularly from the dominant Germany team. Since the 1990s they have won more medals than any other country largely due to funding for their cutting-edge sleds made from high-strength, low-friction materials. The financial demands of the sport, which Germany can meet, are staggering: a world-class sled can cost between £25,000 and £70,000, with runners ranging from £4,000 to £10,000. 'There's three components to our performance,' Hall says. 'The push start, the driving and our equipment. The equipment's the one not in our power to change: you have a sled and sometimes you can improve it, sometimes you can't. That's why the German teams do so well. They've got money to pump into their research and development to improve things. We don't have that. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'But it pushes us. We don't want to be at the top and not have any competition. Winning medals without the struggles and sacrifice to get them doesn't mean anything. It feels like it's given to you, which is sometimes what it looks like when the German teams win gold every week. It means even more to us because we shouldn't realistically have a chance to be in that position.' Germany will be Team GB's biggest threat at Milano Cortina 2026, where Hall hopes his team can elevate their Olympic performances to match their recent success. In Beijing, Hall finished sixth in the four-man and 11th in the two-man. At Pyeongchang 2018, he placed 17th in the open four and 12th in the two-man. 'We try to downplay the Olympics and make it seem like it's not anything special,' Hall says. 'You've got to kind of de‑escalate the hype in some sort of way. You've got different banners and there's a few more people watching, but you've got to focus on your job at hand.' The bobsleigh will be held at the redeveloped Eugenio Monti sliding centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a historic track built in the 1920s. It underwent a significant transformation with an investment of more than €118m (£103m), now featuring a 1,730m track with 16 curves, designed for speeds up to 140 kmh and an expected race time of 55-60 seconds. 'I've been tracking Cortina. I haven't driven it yet but I've seen videos,' Hall says. 'It looks quite an easy track. It may just be down to the push and the equipment.' Regardless of the difficulty of the track, Hall's vision for the perfect 2026 Games is clear: 'Two medals, if not gold medals, around our necks. Simple.' It is an unsurprising declaration from an athlete who has already defied the odds – proving that even when funding dries up, the drive to be the best never does.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Welsh bobsleigh duo target Winter Olympics history
Welsh bobsleigh hopefuls Adele Nicoll and Kya Placide have their sights firmly set on the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be staged in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from 6 to 22 February. Nicoll, 28, from Welshpool, and Placide, 20, from Cardiff, are relative newcomers to the sport but have already made an impression on the Team GB setup. Advertisement Placide's bobsleigh journey began by chance in May 2023 while training on an athletics track. "An athlete who was already involved suggested I'd be good at it because I looked powerful and fast," she says. "I only really knew about bobsleigh from Cool Runnings, I didn't even realise Great Britain had a team. After attending testing days in Bath, before I knew it, I was on the ice for my first season." The pair recently attended a Team GB media day in Edinburgh as part of their preparations. "We're here at the Team GB Winter Olympics summit event," says Nicoll. "It's really helping us get into the spirit and mindset for the Games." Advertisement Both athletes have transitioned from other sports and credit their diverse sporting backgrounds for giving them an edge on the ice. "I'm the biggest advocate for athletics as a foundation for any sport," said Nicoll, who also competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the shot put. "It's an individual sport, so you learn the discipline to turn up every day even when you're training alone. You also learn to deal with losses, which is huge." Placide, who has a background in both gymnastics and athletics, added: "The demands of gymnastics and athletics have really helped me excel in bobsleigh." Kya Placide and Adele Nicoll won gold in the women's bobsleigh at the Europa Cup in Switzerland in January 2024 [British Bobsleigh & Skeleton/Viesturs Lacis] Eyes on qualification To secure their spot in the two-person bobsleigh event in Italy, Nicoll and Placide must meet strict performance standards, compete on multiple tracks, and earn enough points to stay high in the world rankings. Advertisement With a crucial season ahead, Nicoll knows exactly what is at stake. "The World Cup this year will be huge for us, we're giving ourselves a fighting chance of being on the podium in every single race," she said. "I've improved massively with my driving over the last couple of years. I feel like I've really developed the ability to give myself feedback and make those fine adjustments that make the difference at this level." She insists the pair will do everything they can to achieve their Olympic dream. "We're leaving no stone unturned to put ourselves in that position," she added. "It's going to take a lot of hard work and 100% focus from everyone involved, but we believe in what we're doing." Advertisement Making history for Wales Both athletes have made no secret of their ambition to make history by achieving Britain's best-ever finish by a female bobsleigh team. For Nicoll, the pride in her roots is clear. "I can't describe how proud I am to come from such a small Welsh town," said the Welshpool native. "I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth but I had parents who were unwavering in their support. We didn't have the best of everything, but they made sure we did the best with what we had. "To go to the Olympic Games and represent Great Britain is amazing, but I'll also be representing Welshpool, my family, and everyone who's helped me along the way." Advertisement Placide has dreamed of the Olympics since she was a child even if bobsleigh was never on the radar back then. "I remember telling my mum, 'I'm going to the Olympics in gymnastics', she laughed. "Then that didn't happen, so when I moved to athletics, I said it again, 'I'm going to the Olympics in athletics'. And now here I am in bobsleigh, with a real chance of going to the Games. It's just mental when I think about it." With their determination and belief, the Welsh pair hope their journey will inspire others to chase their own dreams, no matter how unlikely they may seem.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Welsh bobsleigh duo target Winter Olympics history
Welsh bobsleigh hopefuls Adele Nicoll and Kya Placide have their sights firmly set on the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be staged in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from 6 to 22 28, from Welshpool, and Placide, 20, from Cardiff, are relative newcomers to the sport but have already made an impression on the Team GB bobsleigh journey began by chance in May 2023 while training on an athletics track. "An athlete who was already involved suggested I'd be good at it because I looked powerful and fast," she says. "I only really knew about bobsleigh from Cool Runnings, I didn't even realise Great Britain had a team. After attending testing days in Bath, before I knew it, I was on the ice for my first season." The pair recently attended a Team GB media day in Edinburgh as part of their preparations. "We're here at the Team GB Winter Olympics summit event," says Nicoll. "It's really helping us get into the spirit and mindset for the Games."Both athletes have transitioned from other sports and credit their diverse sporting backgrounds for giving them an edge on the ice."I'm the biggest advocate for athletics as a foundation for any sport," said Nicoll, who also competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the shot put."It's an individual sport, so you learn the discipline to turn up every day even when you're training alone. You also learn to deal with losses, which is huge."Placide, who has a background in both gymnastics and athletics, added: "The demands of gymnastics and athletics have really helped me excel in bobsleigh." Eyes on qualification To secure their spot in the two-person bobsleigh event in Italy, Nicoll and Placide must meet strict performance standards, compete on multiple tracks, and earn enough points to stay high in the world a crucial season ahead, Nicoll knows exactly what is at stake. "The World Cup this year will be huge for us, we're giving ourselves a fighting chance of being on the podium in every single race," she said."I've improved massively with my driving over the last couple of years. I feel like I've really developed the ability to give myself feedback and make those fine adjustments that make the difference at this level."She insists the pair will do everything they can to achieve their Olympic dream. "We're leaving no stone unturned to put ourselves in that position," she added. "It's going to take a lot of hard work and 100% focus from everyone involved, but we believe in what we're doing." Making history for Wales Both athletes have made no secret of their ambition to make history by achieving Britain's best-ever finish by a female bobsleigh Nicoll, the pride in her roots is clear."I can't describe how proud I am to come from such a small Welsh town," said the Welshpool native. "I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth but I had parents who were unwavering in their support. We didn't have the best of everything, but they made sure we did the best with what we had."To go to the Olympic Games and represent Great Britain is amazing, but I'll also be representing Welshpool, my family, and everyone who's helped me along the way."Placide has dreamed of the Olympics since she was a child even if bobsleigh was never on the radar back then. "I remember telling my mum, 'I'm going to the Olympics in gymnastics', she laughed. "Then that didn't happen, so when I moved to athletics, I said it again, 'I'm going to the Olympics in athletics'. And now here I am in bobsleigh, with a real chance of going to the Games. It's just mental when I think about it."With their determination and belief, the Welsh pair hope their journey will inspire others to chase their own dreams, no matter how unlikely they may seem.
Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Lt Col Sir Andrew Ogilvy-Wedderburn obituary: officer and bobsleigh Olympian
Even for a Highland regiment officer, Sir Andrew Ogilvy-Wedderburn's marksmanship, athleticism and intrepidity stood out. In 1979, when there were still more than 50 infantry battalions in the British Army, he led the Black Watch's winning sniper team at the National Rifle Association's Imperial Meeting, held annually at the Bisley Ranges in Surrey, the most prestigious shooting competition in the world. In the winter months he was an energetic bobsleigh competitor, traversing the Alps in an old Bedford van and staying in modest inns to keep the costs down. As part of the army's four-man team, in 1976 he won the British Bobsleigh Championship and went on to represent Great Britain in the Winter Olympics at Innsbruck that year, and then again in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York. More than once he returned to barracks in plaster from neck to pelvis. As 'brakeman' — a misleading term, the brake being applied only after crossing the finish line — his job was to give the sledge the necessary momentum, pushing at the start for 50 yards or so before jumping in. Speed being everything at that stage, for which many a top track-sprinter was enticed from athletics, Ogilvy-Wedderburn's height, powerful thighs and enormous strength put him in the top league. Andrew John Alexander Ogilvy-Wedderburn, 7th baronet, of Balindean in the County of Perth — abbreviated with military inevitability to 'Og Wedd' — was born in Fareham, Hampshire, in 1952, the youngest of four and the only son. His father, Sir John, was a serving Royal Navy officer, and Og Wedd was brought up initially at naval bases in Malta and on the Firth of Clyde before moving to the ancient family home in Perthshire in 1960. He was subsequently educated at Gordonstoun in northeast Scotland, of which the future King Charles, a contemporary, said: 'I'm glad I went to Gordonstoun. It wasn't the toughness of the place — that's all much exaggerated by report — it was the general character of the education there … with the emphasis on self-reliance to develop a rounded human being.' From Gordonstoun, he went to Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, where men were trained for short-service commissions in five and a half months. In 1971 he was commissioned into the Black Watch, his local (Perthshire) regiment, odd perhaps for a man whose Jacobite forebears had been deprived of title and estate (and in one case life). The baronetcy was restored in 1809 for Sir David Wedderburn, the Tory politician; Og Wedd succeeded to the title on the death of his father in 1977. After joining the 1st Battalion (1BW) he did several emergency tours of duty in Northern Ireland, converted to a regular commission and became adjutant, ever a demanding appointment. After two years as the commanding officer's right-hand man he was posted to the Royal Marines commando training centre at Lympstone in Devon, where he completed the 13-week commando course and gained the celebrated green beret. Two years later he reverted to the equally celebrated red hackle of the Black Watch's tam o' shanter to serve with 8th Infantry Brigade headquarters in Londonderry. He returned to 1BW in 1986, by now in Berlin, as a company commander and the following year commanded the British contingent of the Tripartite Guard of Honour for President Reagan's visit, in which the leader of the free world famously stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate and said: 'Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!' Promotion to lieutenant colonel and command of 1BW in Hong Kong followed. An ebullient, natural leader, he led a notably happy battalion, his style both canny and relaxed. On one occasion, his 'jocks', interpreting their orders to the letter, managed to contrive an incident that might have been out of George MacDonald Fraser's The General Danced at Dawn. While on exercise in the New Territories, they had been told to be on guard against infiltration from across the border and to detain anyone without good reason to be in the area. A group of executives from Jardine Matheson, the great British Hong Kong multinational conglomerate, happened to be enjoying a day's team-building exercise. When stopped and questioned and — although demonstrably not ethnic Chinese — found wanting in good reason, they were blindfolded and handcuffed. At first thinking it was part of the team-building exercise, their sense of humour began to fail on being marched at bayonet point for three miles in some heat and then put in a detention cage. When Ogilvy-Wedderburn arrived to sort things out, tempers were frayed, but with a shrewd display of firmness and charm he disarmed them, almost convincing them that he was doing them a favour by releasing them. The battalion returned to England in 1994 and the following year served another six-month tour of duty in Northern Ireland, for which Ogilvy-Wedderburn received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service. Not overly ambitious, after two years instructing at the Combined Arms Training Centre on Salisbury Plain, he chose to become commander of recruiting in Scotland, and in turn Scottish divisional lieutenant colonel, responsible for personnel matters in the Scottish infantry regiments. On retiring in 2004 he became a director of the Army Benevolent Fund Scotland. Latterly, though his health declined, he spent his time at home in Perthshire enhancing the flora and fauna, ridding the estate of grey squirrels to save the reds. In 1984 he had married Gillian Adderley, daughter of a decorated Royal Army Service Corps officer. The marriage was dissolved in 2014, and he married, secondly, Fiona (Fi) Beaton, a naturopathic nutritionist, who survives him along with a daughter and two sons from his first marriage: Katherine, a ski-chalet manager; Peter, a wine merchant, who succeeds to the baronetcy; and Peter's twin, Geordie, an insurance broker. He was the last of the army's Olympic gentleman amateurs. Lieutenant Colonel Sir Andrew Ogilvy-Wedderburn Bt, Black Watch officer and Olympian, was born on August 4, 1952. He died of cancer on April 9, 2025, aged 72
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Dawn Richardson Wilson eyeing Olympic bobsleigh return
Calgary Watch Dawn Richardson Wilson is back and eyeing the next Winter Olympics in Italy after taking a few years off from bobsleigh.
