The British Olympic Association (BOA) today announced that ten bobsleigh athletes have been officially selected for Team GB for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. They are among 33 athletes today announced for Team GB, and join athletes already selected from the sports and disciplines of curling, figure skating, short track, skiing and snowboarding, skeleton and biathlon, bringing the total Team GB size to 56.
The selected athletes are:
· John Baines (born; Middlesborough lives; Topcliffe, Thirsk) (GBR2 4-man)
· Stuart Benson (born; Glasgow lives: Bath) (GBR1 4-man)
· Lamin Deen (born; London lives: Withington) (GBR2 4-man, GBR1 2-man)
· Joel Fearon (born; Coventry lives: Bath) (GBR1 4-man)
· John Jackson (born; Barnard Castle lives: Trowbridge) (GBR1 4-man)
· Craig Pickering (born; Crawley lives: Bath) (GBR2 4-man, GBR1 2-man)
· Benjamin Simons (born; Broseley lives: Bath) (GBR2 4-man)
· Bruce Tasker (born; Manorbier lives: Bath) (GBR1 4-man)
· Paula Walker (born; Blackburn lives: Trowbridge) (GBR1 2-woman)
· Rebekah Wilson (born; Altrincham lives: Bath) (GBR1 2-woman)
CLICK HERE to view all the profiles
This season Britain’s bobsleigh performances throughout the FIBT World Cup Series has successfully earned Team GB four qualification spots for the bobsleigh events in Sochi. These include two men’s teams in the four-man bobsleigh, as well as one team in both the men and women’s two-man bobsleigh.
Great Britain 1(GBR1) pilot John Jackson, 36, has defied the odds in qualifying for Sochi - his second Olympic Winter Games - by making an unprecedented recovery from a ruptured Achilles he sustained last July, less than 8 months out from Sochi.
Following a rigorous routine of rehabilitation after surgery Jackson was able to join GBR1 and Sochi teammates Bruce Tasker, 26, Stuart Benson, 32, and Joel Fearon, 25, in competing at the World Cup’s. The quartet, who have only been competing as a unit since 2011, now have their sights set firmly on challenging for a medal in Sochi.
Britain’s second four-man team (GBR2) will comprise of Lamin Deen, 32, as pilot, John Baines 28, Ben Simons, 27, and sprinter Craig Pickering who competed for Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Deen and Pickering will also team up in the two-man event.
Walker, 27, and Wilson, 22, were former World Junior Champions together at Park City in 2011. The duo were reunited at the start of the 2013-14 season following the selection trials. Walker made her Olympic debut as a pilot in Vancouver 2010 and finished in 11th place on the notoriously fast track in Whistler. In Sochi, Walker will pilot Wilson at her first Olympic Winter Games.
Team GB have won four medals in bobsleigh since the sports introduction at Chamonix in 1924, one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Most recent of those was at Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics in the four-man event, where Sean Olsson, Dean Ward, Courtney Rumbolt and Paul Attwood won a joint-bronze medal after they achieved the same combined run score as France. The Sochi Games also marks fifty years since Tony Nash and Robin Dixon won gold in the two man bob at the Innsbruck 1964 Winter Olympics.
Commented Sochi 2014 Team GB Chef de Mission Mike Hay:
Said Gary Anderson, Team GB Bobsleigh Team Leader and Performance Director of British Bobsleigh:
Commented John Baines:
Commented Stuart Benson:
Commented Lamin Deen:
Said Joel Fearon:
Said John Jackson:
Commented Craig Pickering
Added Benjamin Simons:
Commented Bruce Tasker:
Said Paula Walker:
Added Rebekah Wilson: