Winter Olympics Team Bath.qxp_Layout 1 28/01/2022 18:30 Page 1
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Taking to the ice: from Bath to Beijing
Sportspeople at the Team Bath Sports Training Village will be looking to extend a remarkable run of medal success when Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympic Games from 4–20 February. Ten athletes and two travelling reserves with the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA), based at the University of Bath, have been officially selected by Team GB for Beijing – Emma Clegg talks to the head of talent, research and innovation for skeleton and two of the athletes
Danny Holdcroft: head of talent “We only slide for about two hours a year, probably three minutes in a given day,” says Danny Holdcroft, head of performance at the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association. Danny is the longest serving member of the British Skeleton team. This is all very well, but two hours a year just doesn’t sound like an Olympic level effort to me. But when I query this (diplomatically) I discover that there is very good reason for these practice times – there is no ice track in the UK and therefore no opportunity to slide regularly. There are 17 or 18 ice tracks in the world, the nearest in Winterberg, North Germany, a 10-hour drive. Another one used by the team is in Lillehammer, Norway. “Not having a local ice track is a disadvantage, but it is also one of the things that has made us stand out and has given us the level of recognition that we’ve had,” says Danny. “In addition, because there are no local ice tracks we have no athlete participation base and no local clubs, which means we have to recruit complete novices at the age of 18 or 19, and then give them four or five years to get to the Games.” So why then has the British Skeleton team achieved so many medals in recent years, with Alex Coomber winning bronze in 2002,
Shelley Rudman silver in 2006, Amy Williams gold in 2010, Lizzy Yarnold gold in 2014 and 2018 and Dominic Parsons and Laura Deas bronze in 2018? The most crucial factor is how the BBSA is able to use Team Bath’s push-start track at the University of Bath. This outdoor 140m track – the only one of its type in the UK – enables Britain’s skeleton athletes to hone their starts away from the ice. Another advantage is the great sprinting, strength and conditioning, and performance gym facilities offered by Team Bath, supporting the other aspects of training the skeleton athletes. Danny joined the skeleton team in 2005 as a start coach, a role that focuses on the first 55 metres of the race from the point where you run with the sled until when you dive on it. “I was one of the first start coaches in the world and that was when we were setting our programme up. That was always our go-to advantage, to make the start the best in the world,” he explains. “Push-track is all about the start of the race. The key principle is that the start needs to be on a par with the best and then it gives you a stable platform in the race. Because it’s all about accelerating as much as possible – you don’t really drive the sled, you let yourself go and then you guide the sled to
Marcus Wyatt making sure his race start is a fast one
Danny Holdcroft with Lizzy Yarnold at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
keep it going forwards and accelerating.” It’s all about creativity and innovation, says Danny. “One of our key pitches as a sport is our ability to be innovative, so we don’t set any perameters. Traditionally the sport will track sprinters in athletics because they are fast runners. We don’t have a specified list of sports – in fact we encourage those who are less well trained and are interested in multi sports, or who just like going fast and love the adrenalin kick. We go as far and wide as ballet, dancing and gymnastics, as well as targeting those who are good at all sports but haven’t tried them at a high level. “The motto for our programme is ‘Achieving the Impossible’. This was born out of the fact that it was said that it was not possible for us to win Olympic medals. But we have an internal belief that we can. If you have a genuine belief in a vision, and the right work ethic and some natural talent, then you can go all the way.” Skeleton athletes in Bath train from March until October, doing 13–14 sessions a week, including on the push track. Balance and body awareness work takes place over the summer. Considerable time is spent in the
The push-start track at the University of Bath
