Former footballer eyes Olympic goal
In the final article in this series on Bath’s skeleton Olympic hopefuls, Craig Thompson is eyeing up an Olympic spot for Beijing in February.
Thompson, a former footballer who took up skeleton in 2014 following a talent ID scheme, is hoping he continues his form from last season into Olympic year. In 2020/21 he recorded four top ten finishes on the World Cup circuit, capping it off with his highest-ever result and a silver medal in the final race.
“It was a very good season for me, considering the pandemic. It was probably my most successful season in skeleton. I had a whole mixture of top ten results. If I can replicate that this year, I’ll be very happy, and hopefully that’ll be the qualification I need to get to the Games.”
At this season’s first and second World Cup 1 and 2 in Innsbruck recently, Thompson placed 21st and 17th. However, if he follows the same trajectory of last season and continues to improve, a handful of higher placed finishes should secure him selection in the New Year.
The pre-season training camp in Beijing has inspired him to return in February, with Thompson high in praise for the Olympic track.
“It was really, really cool. The track is phenomenal. If you ever see it on telly, I don’t think it will do it justice.
“You can see from the start area all the way down the track and it does look like a dragon. How they have built it is amazing, they’ve done it really, really well.
“It took me a while to get used to the track, but I left it in a really good place.
“It is very technical. It’s quite a unique track, there is not much way of transferring certain stuff from different tracks to this track, which is a challenge in itself.”
The Tokyo Olympics in the summer allowed Thompson to dare to dream about what could be in the winter version just a few months later.
“I found myself wondering if this was what Beijing was going to be like as obviously being under all the restrictions things were different, like no spectators. By the sounds of it I think (Beijing) is going to be behind closed doors. Seeing those guys perform at the Games and then obviously our Games aren’t too far away, you just kind of think that next time the Olympics is on, it’s going to be us. And that in itself is mental.”
However, without wanting to get ahead of himself, at the moment Thompson is fully focussed on the World Cup season. He and the other British world cup athletes are in the midst of a gruelling schedule with races back to back until midjanuary, with just a few days break for Christmas.
“We’re not getting selected until January; I think that is the selection cut off, so I’m taking one race as it comes, one week at a time. Hopefully the results will take care of themselves if I take care of the process and stuff like that. And then with luck, I can get the qualification I need.”
Last week Thompson’s teammate, Matt Weston, secured Great Britain’s first World cup Gold medal since 2008, kick-starting what we hope will be a successful Olympic season. With Weston, Marcus Wyatt and Thompson all vying for Olympic spots the next few weeks look increasingly exciting.
“The team is great. We have a real good dynamic going on, everyone seems to get on with everyone, and the staff are great to work with. If we just carry on how as we have been doing for the last couple of years I think we will all be fine. It’s an exciting time for sure.”
The British team are back on ice this Friday at World Cup 3 in Altenburg.