GB’s secret plan to end skiing jinx? A £6k doll!

TEAM GB have deployed a £6,000 mannequin as a secret weapon in Dave Ryding’s bid to become Britain’s first alpine skiing medallist in the history of the Winter Olympics. Ryding (below), the world No 10, is rated as a good medal hope in the slalom, which starts in the early hours tomorrow morning. He matched Britain’s best alpine World Cup result when he came second in the Kitzbuhel slalom in Austria last year and there has been an extensive technology push to support him in Pyeongchang. The mannequin, built from 3D scans of Ryding’s body, head and face, is accurate right up to his hairline and has been used in more than 200 hours of wind tunnel testing in Southampton after British Ski and Snowboard targeted the fabric of his kit and the wax for his skis as holding major potential for gains. Ryding’s governing body identified that, in the past 10 World Cup events, he only missed the podium by an average of 0.89sec and believe the lessons learned from the mannequin and wax products could help Britain make history in Pyeongchang. Meanwhile, Britain’s men and women curlers took vital wins in their penultimate group stage matches yesterday. Kyle Smith’s side crushed Norway 10-3, and Eve Muirhead’s team won 8-6 against Japan. Both sides now have 5-3 records. Elsewhere, a criminal investigation has been opened by the Russian Olympic Committee into the circumstances under which medal-winning Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky tested positive for meldonium.