World Cup circuit in skeleton crew sights
British skeleton athletes are preparing to kick-start their Olympic season with the World Cup circuit getting underway this month in Innsbruck, Austria.
Olympic bronze medallist Laura Deas and her teammates have just returned from three weeks in Beijing familiarising themselves with the Olympic track. Alongside other skeleton athletes from across the globe, the group underwent an intense pre-season training camp, culminating with the official Olympic test event.
Deas said: “It was a really great experience to finally see the track we are going to be racing on after quite a few delays. It’s beautiful from an architectural perspective and it is actually a really good track to slide on as well.
“It is definitely going to be challenging to get it all worked out in the time we have got left; I think we made some really good strides in terms of a team in working it out, but there is always work to do. That is part and parcel of the job, we are used to it.”
Last week marked 100 days to go until the Winter Olympic opening ceremony. The Games are suddenly starting to seem very real, yet there is the small task of eight World Cups spread across Europe beforehand, the results of which determine Olympic qualification.
Deas said: “You cannot not think about [the World Cups], they are all individually quite important. Because there are only eight you have to be on it week in, week out because you’re competing against all the same people who are going to be at the Games. Qualification is obviously key and also your start draw at the Olympics is determined by your world ranking as well, a better draw is going to be advantageous at the Games.
“So you have got those things you are vying for and you just want to be in a good head space and a good groove by the time you get to the Games.”
The one year delay of the Summer Olympics means the Tokyo Games finished just six months before the Winter edition will start. Deas has found the timing both exciting and inspiring: “To be honest ever since Tokyo it has felt very much like it is now downhill to the Winter Olympics. It has actually been very nice to have that shorter gap between the two because I feel like the momentum has kind of swung from one to the other.”
Deas is unfazed by the new Covid reality and is just excited for the Games to go ahead: “It was so nice to see the Olympics on TV after so much restriction. And it showed even with Covid restrictions you can still have such an incredible Games.
“I don’t think it dulled the enthusiasm from the British public at all. If anything it was more heightened because of the daily struggles people have been through and the restrictions that everyone has experienced. I feel like the Olympics were a really positive event in everyone’s minds so I am hope the Winter Olympics will do that as well.”
As the only member of the British squad to have previously experienced an Olympics, Deas is the veteran of the group and imparts her knowledge when needed. Her experience is invaluable when heading into an Olympic season that is unlikely to be like any other.
She said: “There is that dynamic where I have been through all this before so I do get asked questions, but I am also mindful of the fact that it will probably be slightly different as well.
“It is nice to have that veteran status and this time four years ago I was the rookie so was looking to other people for that experience. I know how daunting it can be going to your first Games and how helpful it is so have people around you that have been there before.”
The British team have a golden record at recent Olympics and expectations remain high heading into Beijing 2022. Deas is quietly confident she and the rest of the British team can deliver this season: “I think Olympic season is always a bit of unknown quantity because it is high stakes for everyone internationally, not just us. There is probably likely to be some small stresses and dramas along the way, because there nearly always is.
“When I look back to this time 4 years ago the season I had leading up to Pyeongchang wasn’t the smoothest but it didn’t mean we didn’t go and have a really successful games.
“I take a lot of confidence from that. I am very motivated to go back and hopefully create more success.”