World Championships Lake Placid 2009

18th rounds off this season with the same sort of empty result that has formed this season! I'm going into this summer totally committed to becoming the Skeleton athlete I know I can be for the 2010 Winter Olympics - this is my shot!!
British Skeleton has a great performance programme, as proven by Adam and Amy both winning silver at this competition - I hope it's my turn next year!! When your hot your hot and with some luck in terms of finding my sled set up - I can be one of the contenders for the medals!
Thanks to Charlie Booker for the photo (link in my Links column) and thanks to my sponsors for their support this difficult season!

Team Event, Lake Placid 2009

5th place! The FIBT have been trying to promote the team event for a couple of years, in which a mens and womens skeleton and bobsleigh all have 1 run each, and all their times are combined to produce a winner! Great Britains team consisted of Amy Williams (Womens Skeleton), Nicola Minichiello and Jackie Davis (Womens Bob), John James Jackson and Henry Nwume (Mens Bob) and myself in Mens Skeleton. It ws a great event and all of us did the best we could - I had a good run that I'm keen to keep consistent for my 4 World Champ runs later in the week. Nicola had the good forune of getting the best timed injury I have ever seen! As we were geting off the podium she twisted her ankle (after winning the womens individual World Championships yesterday!) Plenty of time to recover in the off season now!!

World Cup 8 Park City 2009

16th - in the last of the series of World Cup races this season, it ended on the same sort of vibe as the rest of the year! I'm waiting to see what decision is made on selection for World Championships - the only chance to win funding for the summer - it's not about the money, but having no income makes life somewhat harder! Whatever happens I'm feeling the fire and am totally committed to dedicating my efforts towards qualifying for a great performance at Vancouver 2010! (As it turns out I have been selected for the World Championships - so 5 days of training and preperation for the biggest competition of the year!)

World Cup 7 Park City 2009

11th place - means a few good things for me! Firstly, as a member of the British Skeleton Performance Pathway, I have to reach annual targets to stay on the programme (essential to getting to Vancouver 2010!) Mine this year are a top 8 and two top 12 on World Cup - which I have now done! Phew! Although they are minimums, and I'd hope to do better tomorrow (I was 6th after my first run but had a little bash on the second!)
Also Andy Wood and I are basically having to race off for a spot at the World Championships in Lake Placid next week. Our second run times were exactly the same!! By no means am I in the clear, but he finished 19th. So I need a good result tomorrow - and I feel confident that I can do it! The picture is for inspiration, from the Park City World Cup race last year where I won my first medal!

World Cup 6 Whistler 2009

14th - I've learnt the new Olympic track and feel super enthused for next year! One of the things I've learnt is that when things are going your way and you're fast - you are just fast! My 2007-8 season was like that - and I'll be doing everything I can to make my 2009-10 season the same!!
A big well done to Amy Williams who brought home a 2nd place (very exciting for next year!) which is her best result. Proving my first statement, the Canadian girls had no one in the top 6! The number of runs is not so important after all - it helps as the experience of how to handle differnt corners in different situations assists with your consistency - but when you're fast you're fast! And we're gonna have a real race for the 2010 Olympics!!!

World Cup 5 St Moritz 2009

22nd place, the first time I haven't made the cut in ages! I was pretty upset with the result, it hadn't gone well in training, but race day can be a different kettle of fish! It wasn't to be! Performance goes up and down, and there is no one thing to blame, I've just lost my feeling on the sled! One thing I am sure of is that it will come back!!
It's great to have the support of all my friends and family especially when the results aren't flowing in! I'd like to offer a warm welcome to Be Number 1 as my online sponsor - they are supporting British athletes and can offer you a chance to support your favourite athletes too! Have a click on the link in my 'Links' column on the right of this page!

World Cup 4 Konigsee 2009

12th place finish! Not too bad a result! Unfortunately I dropped from 8th on the first run to 12th after the second. Not really due to any big mistakes, just steering a little to much in Kriesel and loosing speed for the bottom of the track! I had a great straight both runs though, so that is showing that I am one with my sled again! Let's see what I can do in St.Moritz next week!
I'm pleased to welcome a new sponsor to my support team - Witney Lakes Resort. I'll be playing some all important rounds of golf there in the summer to aid my psychological preparation for the Games! You can find their website via my Links to the right of the page.