Performance ‘stands as triumph in itself’
Brad Hall hopes the incredible journey of Britain’s four-man bobsled has only just begun after they finished sixth at the Olympics.
The Bath-based star has guided Nick Gleeson, Taylor Lawrence and Greg Cackett through fire, brimstone and loss of funding on the road to Beijing.
Hall set his own bar at an Olympic medal but sixth was a fantastic result for a pilot who has defied the odds and was an also-ran in Pyeongchang.
“I’m very proud of the performance we have done,” said the 31-year-old.
“The guys pushed incredibly well, we got the top two starts and I drove really well as well.
“It was evident that we didn’t have the speed at the bottom of the track and we are not really sure why as the driving lines were quite good.
“We can hold our heads up high and know that our performance was good, we did the best we can and sixth place for a small nation that doesn’t have its own ice track and not much funding is definitely something to be very proud of.”
The quartet posted a combined time of 3mins 55.72secs across the four runs, showing excellent consistency at Yanqing National Sliding Centre.
They were never more than half a second off the gold medal pace set by all-conquering German pilot Francesco Friedrich, who defend his title in style, prevailing by 0.37 seconds.
Their first run was the fastest, a clocking of 58.60 that saw them in fifth place.
Hall, Lawrence, Gleeson and Cackett were 0.31 seconds off bronze medal position coming into the second day of racing.
They ended it 0.61 clear of a podium place with their final two runs down the world’s first and only 30-degree track coming in at 58.65 and 59.38.
Cackett, who partnered Hall four years ago, was philosophical about the performance.
“I feel a bit weird about it because we are competitors and we knew we could win a medal,” he said.
“We’ve had a storming performance. I’m thinking about my values when it comes to the Olympics, is it about the medal or everything that comes on the way - the journey.
“I would say the bond that we’ve had and being able to pull together through our time being self-funded has been the real magic.
“To sign it off with a top six is a great return, and we’ve had a massive World Cup season which we can be proud of.”
Gleeson also partnered Hall in the two-man competition, where they finished 11th.
He said: “He can be super annoying sometimes, don’t get me wrong.
“We’ve had our altercations over the last four years but to get here and for him to drive us into the top six knowing the mountain that we are up against in the mother nations, is unbelievable.
“He should hold his head very high. Organising every season, planning it all out, getting all the equipment that we need testing.
“Knowing what he’s talking about and then getting us to trust it has been unbelievable. He wouldn’t be here without us and we wouldn’t be here without him.”
Hall is convinced that the British team can go from strength to strength with the next Games set for Milano-cortina in 2026.
“I’m not sure about the future, we will wait and see what happens with funding and the future of British bobsleigh and our team,” said Hall.
“It would be great to keep going because there’s so much potential left in this squad. I believe if we get the backing that we need then the sky’s the limit and we will be consistently up there in the medals again.
“We’ve got to wait and see what happens and I would love to take this team to new heights in the next few years.
“It has been a long three or four years since our funding was dropped. A lot of people have helped us out along the way which we are eternally grateful for and hopefully we made them all proud.
“The lads have been on a journey and hopefully this isn’t the end of it.”
■ As for the women, Mica Mcneill needs to be as far away from a bobsled as humanly possible after a draining campaign ended in disappointment.
The Bath-based pilot finished 17th in the two-woman competition alongside former sprinter Montell Douglas.
Mcneill fell well short of her aim
of bettering the British record performance of eighth she achieved with Mica Moore at Pyeongchang 2018.
“I need a massive mental and physical break,” said Mcneill.
“The two Games that I’ve been involved in, the lead-up has been a really difficult journey.
“The past four years has been a huge mountain to climb. A lot of ups and downs but probably more downs.
“I’m going to go away and reevaluate and who knows what the future holds.”
Mcneill raced alongside Welsh shot putter Adele Nicoll for the majority of the World Cup season, the pair winning silver in Sigulda to qualify the sled for the Olympics.
Douglas was preferred when Olympic selection came around and the Brits posted a combined time of 4:08.85 across the four Olympic runs.
That was 4.89 seconds behind the leading time set by Germany’s Laura Nolte and 3.37 shy of a podium place.
Mcneill and Douglas struggled on the first day of racing, but posted the 14th and 13th fastest times on the second day to climb up the rankings.
“We are happy with how we’ve come back,” said Mcneill.
“Sport’s tough when it doesn’t go your way and you’ve got to come back and respond and we did.
“We made some changes overnight and it worked out. It’s very disappointing that we didn’t do it on the first day, who knows where we would be if we had.
“But we can walk away proud of the performance.”
Immediately after the race at Yanqing National Sliding Centre, history-maker Douglas announced she would be retiring from bobsleigh.
Having represented Team GB in the 100m and 4x100m on the track at Beijing 2008, she became the first woman to represent the nation at the Summer and Winter Games here.
“I’ve had the best time and a very long career,” said Douglas.
“I never say never but I want to make an impact in sport in a different kind of way and add value.
“I’ve led from the front and made a little bit of history myself to show that you can do anything you put your mind to.
“Maybe I will not be on the block with a helmet on in the very near future but I’m hoping to stay in sport in some capacity.”
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