Bobsleigh

The University of Bath has the UK’s only bobsleigh and skeleton push-start track and is proud partners of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, based on campus.

The push-start track was officially opened in 2002 and athletes training at the University have won medals at all but one of the Winter Olympic Games staged since then – a magnificent total of eight between them.

The bobsleigh squad enjoyed Olympic success at Sochi 2014 as the four-man crew of John Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon claimed bronze after two Russian teams were disqualified for doping offences.

The 2022-23 season proved to be a historic one as Brad Hall steered GB to a total of 11 World Cup medals, including three gold; a first ever men’s European Championship four-man crown; a first four-man World Championship medal for the country since 1939; and first ever two-man overall IBSF World Cup medals.

Other successful bobsleigh athletes to train here include Paula Walker and Rebekah Wilson, who won the 2011 World Junior Championship.

Seven medals have come in skeleton, with Alex Coomber winning bronze at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Shelley Rudman taking silver at Torino 2006 before fellow University of Bath graduate Amy Williams made history with a stunning gold medal at Vancouver 2010. Lizzy Yarnold succeeded Amy as Olympic champion at Sochi 2014 and became the first skeleton athlete to defend her title at PyeongChang 2018, where team-mates Laura Deas and Dom Parsons – a PhD student at the time – also won bronze medals.

Unique UK facilities

Our outdoor 140m push-start track – the only one of its type in the UK – enables Britain’s bobsleigh athletes to hone their starts away from the ice, coupled with great sprinting, strength and conditioning and performance gym facilities.

Our £35million Team Bath Sports Training Village also features a physiotherapy, sport science and sport medicine clinic which supports our top skeleton athletes.

Current athletes

Full biography profiles of the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton athletes and coaches currently based at the University of Bath can be found on the BBSA website – click here to view.

Contact

Visit www.thebbsa.co.uk or send them an email to find out more about bobsleigh and skeleton.

Students’ Union Sport

Book facilities

To book the push-start track, please contact Amy Pinchen via email or call 01225 387407.

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