Meet Great Britain's history-making bobsleigh silver medallists

A 'pedantic' pilot, a Royal Marine, a Dolly Parton fanboy and an aspiring police officer - there's a lot more to Great Britain's men's bobsleigh team than meets the eye.

Team Brad Hall slid into the nation's sporting history books with silver at the World Championships in St Moritz.

It was Britain's first 4-man World Championship medal since 1939.

"It’s an incredible achievement and I’m really proud of the team," said Hall. "It’s been a hell of a long time since a 4-man crew has won a World Championship medal. To be the ones who have bucked that trend is pretty special.

"We knew we could make the podium but we still had to go out there and perform, and we did that - just like we’ve done all season, to be honest. It’s an awesome result."

The European champions tied for silver with Latvia’s Emils Cipulis across four runs, and finished 0.69 seconds behind Germany’s Francesco Friedrich.

Hall added: "We would have loved to win gold and we knew we had that in us but we have to be happy with silver - it’s an historic result and not something many people would have given us a chance of doing a couple of years ago.

"We got so close to Friedrich after Run 3 and we thought gold could be on the cards but, fair play to the Germans, they pulled it out of the bag in the final run.

"We’ve got a really talented group with a great work ethic and spirit and I love being a part of it.

'We’ve had an amazing season so far and we want more next week in Igls - we want that overall 4-man World Cup title. We’re so close to making it happen.'

You've seen the headlines - now it's time to go under the lid of the athletes behind the helmets and the men behind the masks.

Brad Hall: The Pack Leader

32, Crawley, bobsleighbrad

Brad is the man that makes the magic happen.

Once upon a time, he dreamed of following in fellow Crawley native Daley Thompson's footsteps, excelling in decathlon at a young age and setting a national record.

The Vengaboys fan represented the South of England in college rugby and achieved a top five UK ranking for U23 discus.

Brad made his Olympic debut in PyeongChang before piloting Team GB to sixth-place finish in the 4-man event at Beijing 2022.

Famously obsessed with the technical side of the sport, he has been variously described by his team-mates as: 'uniquely pedantic', 'incredibly intelligent', 'resilient', 'difficult', 'level-headed' and 'an absolute champ.'

Taylor Lawrence: The Marine

26, Thanet, taylor_lawrence1

A serving Royal Marine Commando, 'Tay' put his career on hold to pursue his Olympic dreams and has since become a mainstay of Team Hall.

Taylor, who has a twin sister, plans to continue his career in the Marines after retiring from bobsleigh.

The 26-year-old joined the Armed Forces aged 20. He is a beast in the gym, standing at 6'4, and describes himself as 'painfully organised.' The slider was named 2022 Royal Navy Sportsman of the Year following his maiden Olympic Games in Beijing, just three years after he first pushed a side handle.

Greg Cackett: The Brakeman

33, Redhill, gregcackett1

They call people like Greg Cackett 'characters.'

A long-time Dolly Parton fan, he founded the online platform 'The Brakeman' in 2021 to provide a behind the scenes look into top-level bobsleigh.

Greg is a 10.24 100m sprinter, a personal best set in 2013, and could be challenged by new squad member Leon Greenwood who has a 10.42 PB.

Following a 17th-place finish in the 4-man at PyeongChang in 2018, Cackett took a year out to pursue track cycling but came back in 2019 and competed at Beijing 2022.

Arran Gulliver: The New Kid

25, Birmingham, arrangulliver

Arran started bobsleigh in summer 2022 and is already European champion.

The 25-year-old was ready to start his police officer training in September when he applied to British Bobsleigh's summer trials in Bath last summer and was instantly recognised for his talent, catapulted onto the international stage and into Team Hall.

Instead of chasing criminals, Gulliver in now chasing his Olympic dreams.

Prior to bobsleigh, Gulliver spent 14 years on the judo mat where he earned his black belt and was named 2015 British Schools Champion.

Outside of sport, the Forrest Gump fan has a BSc degree in Sport Science and a further diploma in Cancer Exercise Rehabilitation, working as a cancer exercise specialist for six months before working in construction during the Covid pandemic.

Sportsbeat 2023