Deas, who won bronze in South Korea four years ago, is the only member of the University of Bath-based GB skeleton squad to have previously competed at the Games and is sharing her knowledge of what to expect over the next three months with team-mates like Crowley.

“We’re a very close team and I like to think my experience can help them,” said Deas. “I remember when I was preparing for PyeongChang and hadn’t been to an Olympics before, I very much relied on Lizzy [Yarnold] and Dom [Parsons], and listening to how they had navigated all of the challenges.

“Hopefully if I can impart some of that to this next generation of athletes then I’m doing my bit as well. I help them out with my experience and they help me out with their drive and passion. It’s a very special time for them and I’m very lucky to see that from my side.”

Brogan Crowley (Photo: Matchtight)

Crowley, who will race alongside Deas on the Women’s World Cup circuit this season, said: “We’re all like puppies, we’re all excited, but Laura has brought that level-headedness. The programme is good at that too, keeping us all focused.

“This season will be really exciting for us all. It’s a completely different challenge – we have the usual eight World Cup races but at the end of it we’ll have either qualified for the Olympics or not, so there is that added pressure. Working out from race week to race week where you stand and trying to keep your head will be the challenge but it’s one we’ve all been prepped for and hopefully it will be positive for us all.”

Deas agreed, saying: “It’s very important to have a balance going into an Olympic year. If you’re overly focused on the goal at the end, your eye might be off the ball at some of the World Cup and they are key to getting there. You can’t neglect one for the other.

“In terms of energy as well, it’s a very long winter with eight World Cups that all count towards qualification and it’s a long time to have that intense focus. Hopefully that’s where my experience will help me, in drawing confidence from the things I have done well before.

“When I look back to this time four years ago, I had some great results but some really average ones and a few bad races too. That didn’t end up defining what happened at the Games so when things get stressful, as they inevitably will, I can look back on that.”

Crowley is looking to build on a ‘really positive’ 2020-21 season, the first she had completed after being hampered by an ankle nerve injury.

“Last season was a big stepping stone as I actually got through the whole year without injury, so the number of runs I had was massive in comparison to previous years,” she said. “In every World Cup race I bettered my result and I finished with a fifth place, which I was really pleased with.”

The IBSF World Cup season begins with back-to-back races in Innsbruck, Austria, on Friday 19th and 26th November. There are further races in Altenberg (2) and Winterberg before Christmas, then Sigulda, Winterberg and St Moritz before Olympic qualification is settled.

The British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) is based at the University of Bath, with athletes training in the High-Performance Gym, indoor sprint track, jumps and throws hall, and on the UK’s only outdoor push-start track. Visit teambath.com/skeleton to find out more.

With thanks to the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight

Cohen, who had full-time athlete access to the UK’s only outdoor push-track and other high-performance facilities at the Sports Training Village during the summer with her federation’s support, is bidding to become the first Israeli female skeleton athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games.

Adding to her motivation is the fact her grandfather, Maurice Cohen, was unable to achieve his own Olympic dream after being prevented from competing at the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin.

“I’ve got a very exciting season ahead and I feel very positive after a good summer of training at Team Bath,” said Cohen, who began a busy winter of racing last weekend on the North American Cup circuit at Whistler, Canada.

“It’s been a real privilege to have access to this special facility, they are very hard to come across internationally, and it’s going to make a big difference to my sliding this winter.

“I’ve been able to train on the push track, which is one of a kind and has really helped me work on my start which is so important in skeleton. I’ve also had access to coaching, the gym, the sprint track, nutritional support and all the things that go into building a really good performance during the winter season.

“If I am able to qualify for Beijing it would be a huge accomplishment for me and my family. My grandfather was born to a Jewish family from Iraq who emigrated to India, and he represented India in both hockey and water polo.

“He captained the water polo team that qualified for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin but was asked by his team to stay behind as they feared for his safety as a Jewish person. If I’m able to go out and make these Olympics in 2022, it will be honouring his legacy.”

Cohen, who is from Cambridge, has been competing internationally for Israel since 2018 having first got into the sport when her dad took up bobsleigh at the age of 50.

“Me and my brother thought it was a mid-life crisis but he was actually very good as an amateur bobsledder,” she explained. “I went to watch a few times and on one occasion was invited along to a skeleton camp with the British Forces team. I fell in love with the sport after my first run – the adrenalin rush, the speed, the excitement, the camaraderie of the team around you and being around the mountains.

“After that I was told I could go back for one week of sliding a year as their civvy ringer if they had a spare sled. A few years later, after being on the hamster wheel in London, I felt I was ready for a change so I decided to emigrate to Israel. My passion for skeleton was still growing and everything just came together at once.”

She became the first Israeli female skeleton athlete to compete at the IBSF World Championships in 2019 and is determined to make more history in February, with the two-month qualification period for Beijing now under way.

The University of Bath-based British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) are providing additional support for Cohen during the season as a small-nations athlete on the international circuit.

Team Bath provides full-time support for athletes across a wide range of sports. Visit https://www.teambath.com/sport/performance/ to find out more.

With thanks to the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight

Ashleigh Pittaway, a Youth Olympic Games gold-medallist in 2016, is only 17 years old but has already raced on the IBSF World Cup circuit five times and claimed a top-ten finish at the 2018 Junior World Championships in St Moritz.

She has been training full-time with the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) at the University of Bath since August and has now become the ninth University-based athlete to be named as an Ambassador for MJ Church.

The Marshfield-based Civil Engineering, Plant, Transport and Waste Management Contractor provide Pittaway and her fellow Ambassadors with a bursary towards their training and competition expenses. In return, the athletes help to inspire the company’s staff and their families, as well as customers and stakeholders, to participate in sport and healthy activities.

Pittaway said: “I am proud to have been selected as a MJ Church Ambassador. Their support will be invaluable as we approach the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympiad.

“I’ve won gold at the Youth Olympic Games and now it is all about developing towards my ultimate goal – winning a medal at the senior Winter Olympic Games.”

Pittaway grew up in Munich, Germany, and first tried skeleton aged ten while at a boarding school that specialised in winter sports. She has dual citizenship and joined the British Skeleton programme in 2015, going on to win Youth Olympic Gold in Lillehammer in February 2016 before making her World Cup debut later that month.

She showed further signs of her potential by winning silver and bronze on the Intercontinental Cup circuit in November 2016 before moving to Bath last summer to train full-time, using the University’s unique push-start track and world-class gym.

Pittaway gained more experience on the ice this season, racing four times on the World Cup circuit alongside Lizzy Yarnold and Laura Deas as they worked towards a Winter Olympic Games where they famously won gold and bronze respectively.

“I really look up to Lizzy and the other athletes here, they are all really supportive,” she said.

“I’m enjoying it in Bath. The push-start track is cool and just shows how professional the set-up is. Even though we don’t have the ice and a home track, we have all the facilities to help us perform at the very top level.

“I’m a bit different to the other athletes as I got onto the programme because I can slide well but my start isn’t that fast at the moment, while the others were selected because they start well but have to learn to slide. It’s a bit different but I am ready to improve.”

Pittaway joins a group of high-achieving MJ Church Ambassadors that includes Rio 2016 Paralympics silver-medallist Piers Gilliver (wheelchair fencing), Olympians Ben Fletcher (judo) and Joe Choong (modern pentathlon), and reigning British Champions Alex Lane (badminton), Anna Hopkin (swimming) and David King (athletics). Rugby player Sydney Gregson and Team Bath Netball star Rachel Shaw, both of whom are England internationals in their sport, are also proud to represent the company.

MJ Church, a dynamic business offering a diverse range of services from skip hire and waste collection to multi million-pound civil engineering contracts, became a partner of Team Bath in 2016 and supports sport from grass-roots level through to high performance. 

Tom Church, Managing Director of MJ Church Plant and Transport commented, “We are really excited to be supporting Ashleigh in her quest to be the next skeleton medal winner to have trained at the University of Bath.

“Being able to support our young athletes through the ambassador programme and see the positive results they are achieving has been very worthwhile.”

For more information about MJ Church, visit mjchurch.com.

Report courtesy of the Team Bath press office at Matchtight Ltd

The Natural Science student, supported by a Santander Sports Scholarship, saved her best performance of a mixed week until last as she won the National Junior Championship Giant Slalom title in 2:19.44.

“It feels great to be champion and it’s always nice to finish off the week with a win,” MacAulay told the British Ski & Snowboard website.

“I was quite surprised actually – I felt the first run left me wanting more from the second run.

“I think I went a bit harder on the second run but I really feel like I have more to give when it comes to the GS. I’m happy to have won but I still want more.”

That success came a couple of days after MacAulay had finished runner-up to Cara Brown in the senior Giant Slalom championship, clocking a combined time of 2:33.35 after two solid runs in tricky conditions.

“I made some big mistakes which is slightly frustrating but I’m on the podium, so in a way I can’t complain although I would have liked to do a lot better,” said MacAulay, who could only ski with one pole in her favoured slalom discipline due to a hand injury.

“I’m off to Val d’Aran for a few races and then on to Pila, so hopefully I can pick up some results and end the season on a high.”

Report courtesy of the Team Bath press office at Matchtight Ltd 

The winners collected their prizes during a ceremony hosted by television broadcaster John Inverdale at Bath Racecourse, with Team Bath Netball U16s receiving the Junior Team of the Year award after reaching the national finals for the first time in a decade.

Yarnold retained the Professional Sports Personality of the Year accolade after completing a career grand-slam in 2015 by adding the World and European titles to her Olympic and World Cup crowns.

The British Skeleton athlete overcame stiff competition from swimmer Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, who trains in the London 2012 Legacy Pool, and rower Helen Glover, who began her glittering career on the GB Rowing Team Start Programme at the University of Bath. Both won world titles during 2015.

Gilliver was named as Disability Sports Performer of the Year after finishing 2015 top of the epee rankings and on course for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification.

He took the award ahead of two other athletes who train at the University of Bath – athlete Sophie Kamlish, part of Rob Ellchuk’s training group, and badminton player Bobby Griffin, coached once a week by Pete Bush on the Team Bath Futures programme.

Team Bath Tennis – hosts of this week’s Aegon GB Pro-Series Tournament at the University of Bath – were finalists in the Community Club of the Year category and the British Swimming National Training Centre in Bath was shortlisted for Team of the Year.

Head Coach Dave McNulty was a finalist in the Coach of the Year category and University of Bath swimmer Jay Lelliott, coached by Mark Skimming, was shortlisted for the main Sports Personality of the Year prize.

Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, attended the ceremony and said: “The variety of those gaining awards – from Olympic and world-level performers through to local volunteers – was a fantastic showcase for sport across our area.”

More information about the Bath Chronicle Sports Awards can be found at here.

Report courtesy of Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd.