ALL ENDS IN DEAS
Dad: Kit’s not fit
THE father of Laura Deas gave Skeleton bosses a bone-rattling blast after his daughter’s China dream was shattered.
Olympic medallist Deas came to Beijing looking to improve on her 2018 bronze but finished so far down the field she only just qualified for the final run.
The Welsh slider ended up in 19th place at a bitterly cold Yanqing National Sliding Centre, three places ahead of team-mate Brogan Crowley.
And with the men also performing below their own expectations, fingers were pointed at the quality of kit bought with £6.42million of UK Sport funding.
“It’s on you, British Skeleton,” said Ewen Deas after seeing a tearful Laura interviewed during her competition.
He added: “The athletes are doing their best, they are starting well, they are sliding well. The speed is being haemorrhaged by the kit.
“Laura’s interview is heartbreaking. Not happy viewing if you’re a British Skeleton slider.”
Deas, 33, finished nearly four seconds behind German winner Hannah
Niese and stopped short of saying she would continue to the Milan Games in 2026.
“I really do not know at this point, this isn’t an ending I would have hoped for,” she said. “The outcome is clearly a long way from what I want and expect. It’s frustrating for me because I know I’m capable of so much more. It has been an emotionally tough 24 hours.
“No one comes to the Olympics, especially a previous medallist, to finish 19th. Nobody works this hard for four years to do that.
“So of course I’m disappointed. The speed that I so desperately want is not there and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll go away and reflect and see how I feel when the dust settles.”
Deas was reared on a diet of British Skeleton success. Seven medals in the last five Olympics, every gold won by Britain in the last 20 years.
She had seen Amy Williams win in Vancouver, Lizzy Yarnold do the same in Sochi and been a team-mate when Yarnold retained her title in Pyeongchang. But here it was the tech that seems to have let these sliders down. Britain’s quest for that elusive first medal now turns to Brad Hall, Greg Cackett and their two-man bob.
KAMILA VALIEVA, the Russian teen skater who failed a drugs test, will find out tomorrow whether she can remain in China and go for gold. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is meeting today to rule on an appeal lodged jointly by Olympic, anti-doping and international skating chiefs. They protested Russia’s decision to let her compete.