Greg Rutherford takes up the bobsleigh baton ...

[carterhatch]

Greg Rutherford is the lastest to follow a now well trodden path for former 'track and field' competitiors...

Wish him all the best ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/58727356

[Grassmarket]

Good for him. As a bobsleigh fan, I’d say he has a reasonable chance of making Beijing, but a medal would be a mountain. Top 15 would be very commendable. Hopefully come February someone will resurrect this post to mock it.

[larkim]

Good for him, good for publicity and funding for that sport, looks like a good fit. No guarantees of any success of course, but all the ingredients are there; raw speed, strength, technical awareness, timing. There may be more to it than that of course (I wonder how Kilty would go with explosive starts; could be too fast for his team I suppose!) but i wish him luck. He was my least favourite T&F medal winner in London, but I've since warmed to him a great deal (not that he cares!).

[JamieSLA]

Just curious, as someone who hasn't indulged massively in watching bobsleigh.. what is the view from the 'purists' in the sport? Seeing people easily transition from T+F to Bobsleigh, a sport that they were not likely to have a passion for before; suddenly coming across and taking spots from people who may have worked at it for a long long time?

I wouldn't have a problem with it, but i'm just wondering if anyone has done?

[Grassmarket]

Just curious, as someone who hasn't indulged massively in watching bobsleigh.. what is the view from the 'purists' in the sport? Seeing people easily transition from T+F to Bobsleigh, a sport that they were not likely to have a passion for before; suddenly coming across and taking spots from people who may have worked at it for a long long time?

I wouldn't have a problem with it, but i'm just wondering if anyone has done?

In the UK team there has been conflict in the past between the military types who make up the backbone & some of the 4x100m runners, whom the military saw as lacking in self-discipline.

[trickstat]

That's quite interesting. I know athletics is very much an individual sport well bobsleigh is very much a team one. I suppose the ideal compromise was somebody like Lennie Paul who was in the team about 30 years ago who was both an Army guy and a quick sprinter.

[carterhatch]

A nice follow-up to Greg's bobsleigh efforts...

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/greg-rutherford-impact-leaves-british-213000788.html?.tsrc=fp_deeplink

[Stew-Coach]

Sprinters have transitioned to the bob for years, Alan Condon being one of the first mainstream that I can remember. Even Dasoulu recently had a go. Still is a heavy military presence though, Stuart Benson was RAF, but was also a sprinter when younger

We forget Joel Fearon who is a sub 10 seconds guy has been in the bob for 10 years or so now.

[trickstat]

Lenny Paul was an Army guy who was also a sprinter back in the '90s.

[carterhatch]

Stew-Coach


as if on cue ... Montell Douglas - How do we encourage more black people into winter sports?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/58885841

[carterhatch]

Injury delays Greg Rutherford's bobsleigh debut

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/59306405

[Grassmarket]

Another athlete turned slider - Bogan Crowley on the UK Skeleton squad today was a junior heptathlete but had to give it up after an injury-ravaged transition to seniors.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19727171.skeleton-star-brogan-crowley-verge-emulating-idol-jessica-ennis-hill-beijing-2022/

[fchd]

And I also see Sara Aerts (London 2012 Heptathlon DNF) is the brake person for the Belgian 2-woman bob.

[carterhatch]

Bobsleigh related athletics news is keeping this forum ticking over!

Meet the two Welsh athletes competing for the same Olympic bobsleigh spot

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/59392284

[Grassmarket]

Couple more - Lolo Jones is back in the US team, she’s a veteran by now. And Germany’s top 100m sprinter (11.01) this year & Tokyo relay team member Alexandra Burghardt is now braking for Germany. Has a decent medal chance.

[Gabriella]

Burghardt has been selected for the Beijing Winter Olympics, paired with defending champion Mariama Jamanka. She has a real chance of an Olympic medal in this event, which is likely to be a USA v GER affair. She's had 3 outings on the circuit, in her first 2 she was pushing around 4th best, then in her last meet she was 2nd fastest at the push, so is getting better.

[Christy93]

Bobsleigh related athletics news is keeping this forum ticking over!

Meet the two Welsh athletes competing for the same Olympic bobsleigh spot

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/59392284

Looks like Adele Nicoll won out in the end, and promptly won a
World Cup silver behind Elana Meyers, 4x World champ, 2018 silver medallist and world number 1. Another ex-sprinter, Greg Cackett, also won silver at Sigulda.