Marcus Wyatt’s first World Cup gold leads fantastic five-medal haul for British Bobsleigh and Skeleton sliders at Whistler season opener
University of Bath-based British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) athletes won gold, three silver and bronze during a stunning start to the 2022-23 IBSF World Cup season in Whistler, Canada.
Marcus Wyatt (pictured top left) claimed his first World Cup win in the men’s skeleton race on Thursday, his combined time of 1:45.44 for two runs pipping South Korea’s Jung Seung-gi by one-hundredth of a second, and was joined on the podium by team-mate Matt Weston (pictured top right) in third.
Both Brits set a new start record of 4.46 seconds and Wyatt said: “It’s an amazing feeling! To win gold for my country in a World Cup is something I’ve dreamt of for a long time, and it feels as good as I thought it would.
“It’s a perfect way to start the new Olympic campaign and to win a medal with Matt makes the result even better.”
The women’s race saw Brogan Crowley also set a new track start record as she won her first-ever World Cup medal by tying second with the USA’s Hallie Clarke in a combined a time of 1:47.58. 2018 Olympic bronze medallist Laura Deas was 12th in 1:48.91.
BROGAN CROWLEY 2ND 🥈@BroganCrowley secures her first-ever podium finish at WC at her first competition at Whistler & secures herself a joint sensational silver with Hallie Clark, along with a new start record 💨
Speedy bunch of Brits today 👀 pic.twitter.com/KLSZrYwitY
— GBBobsleighSkeleton (@The_BBSA) November 25, 2022
It was then the bobsleigh team’s turn to take to the track, with Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence finishing just 0.11 seconds behind German duo Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schuller in the two-man competition on Sunday.
Hall also piloted his new-look four-man crew featuring Lawrence, Greg Cackett and debutant Aaran Gulliver to silver the following day behind all-conquering Friedrich.
TEAM HALL 2ND 🥈@BobsleighBrad , @Taylor1lawrence , Greg Cackett & Arran Gulliver have come 2nd in the first 4-man competition of the BMW @IBSFsliding World Cup season 🙌#bobsleigh #teamhall #britishbobsleigh pic.twitter.com/SWBSCDp6kO
— GBBobsleighSkeleton (@The_BBSA) November 27, 2022
“What a weekend!” said Hall. “I’m extremely proud of these boys to help rebuild this team after the Olympics and Arran has done a fantastic job jumping in the deep end and helped us to some world-class starts. It’s a testament to the hard work put in over the summer.”
There were more medals for the BBSA away from the World Cup circuit over the weekend, with Craig Thompson winning two silver medals at the Intercontinental Cup skeleton competition in Winterberg, Germany. Amelia Coltman bagged bronze in the women’s race on Sunday.
BBSA skeleton and bobsleigh athletes do their UK training at the University of Bath, which is home to the UK’s only outdoor push-start track. Click here to find out more.
