Cool runnings for Bobsleigh starlet
REACHES £30K OLYMPI TARGET
BRITISH bobsleigh pilot Mica McNeill has hit her £30,000 funding target just six days after being told by her sport’s domestic governing body they did not have the cash to support her Winter Olympic dream.
McNeill said she was “overwhelmed” by the public reaction to her campaign which saw her reach her target on the evening of her 24th birthday.
The money means McNeill, from Consett, County Durham, and her team-mate Mica Moore can attend enough World Cup races next season to seal their qualification for the Games in Pyeongchang in February.
McNeill, who has already hit the British Olympic Association’s qualification criteria, said: “It is a huge awakening to realise how much support we have out there.
“The money is going to help us get on ice this season and compete in the World Cup races we need in order to get the world ranking for the Olympics. We are powered by the people and it is them who will be pushing us down the track.” McNeill’s success in raising the required sum will be a further embarrassment to the beleaguered British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, who have spent the past week trying to raise some form of additional funding themselves. It is understoof BBSA officials are in a belated position to make an offer of some kind of support to McNeill for next year’s campaign, although its precise nature is yet to be established. While the BBSA have publicly insisted the decision to axe the women’s programme has been subject to ongoing discussions about financial restructuring, McNeill maintained the women’s squad was told in no uncertain terms that they were to be left with no support. It is the latest controversy to hit the BBSA, already reeling from bullying and sexism claims and the respective departures of their performance director and head coach. Both McNeill and reigning Olympic skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold accused the governing body of “mismanagement”, while officials at UK Sport are understood to be considering the imposition of tighter financial regulations.
McNeill said: “We were told there was no money for the women’s programme and all the girls were shocked and devastated, but we quickly realised we had to push forward to take it into our own hands.
“It’s definitely not a stress that we needed, but we can’t dwell on it.
“We need a clear mind, not worrying about money or the past and just focusing on performing.
“We need to make everyone who has supported us proud and make sure the money does not go to waste.
“I truly believe that we will win an Olympic medal, whether it is in this Olympic cycle or the next.
“I am committed to Pyeongchang and the next Winter Olympics in Beijing and I am prepared to do what it takes to get there.
“Knowing we have so much support behind us makes it all the more special.”
We were told there was no money for the women’s programme and all the girls were shocked and devastated