| BBC
Bristol Online's Tony Arnese looks back at his Bobsleigh
trip to Norway with the GB Olympic team. |
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It's not every
day you get the chance to try bobsleighing - let alone with the
GB Olympic team as it prepares for February's games in Salt Lake
City.
This experience
is by far the most exciting I've ever had and has changed the course
of my life.
Let me put this
in perspective.
After being
introduced to the sport - not as a competitor but as a reporter
at Bath University - it really captured my imagination.
GB team |
I mean going
fast has always appealed to me, but in bobsleigh you have the thrill
of pushing a 200kg bob at the top of a mile-long course, followed
by a minute-long ride at 85mph, much of it under the influence of
5g (five times the force of gravity).
As I used to
be a sprinter and a rugby player I knew my legs could probably deliver
the power needed to drive the bob, but I wasn't sure.
So I was given
an initial informal trial by the GB Performance Coach Lenny Paul.
At this stage
I was quite prepared to accept that I may be too old for the sport
having just turned 30 or be too slow.
To my surprise
though four-time Olympic GB bobsleigher Paul (also an ex-GB sprinter)
informed me I had the basic speed to bobsleigh and should give it
a go!
Marcus Adams
advises Tony Arnese |
So I took part
in the UK Push Championships at Bath University where there is a
bobsleigh on tracks to practice technique.
This contest
also doubled as the first stage of the Olympic selection and so
I was up against the best.
Although I wasn't
selected, my time was only a quarter of a second behind the core
team and impressed the coaches enough for them to invite me to a
training camp at Lillehammer to try the sport for real.
If you've never
seen a bobsleigh track in person it may be hard to understand what
I am about to say.
In Lillehammer
it is a huge concrete fridge covered in ice and emanates power.
That is to say it has a presence and deserves respect and the moment
you forget this you will be at its mercy.
Just ask a few
in the GB team like former 200m Commonwealth Champion Marcus Adams
who was in a bob that crashed here a few years ago. He has the scars
to prove it.
Spiked shoes
for ice |
Of course I
was scared, but when you deal with an unknown all you have is the
expectation of the experience to consider, perhaps even worse.
Before my runs
though I was trained how to jump into the bob, where to put my hands
and feet and importantly how to put the brakes on.
At last the
moment arrived for my initiation and my heart was pumping very fast
as I lined up the two-man at the start to push it down the 1994
Olympic track with
Somerset Royal Marine Lee Johnston driving - a favourite to represent
GB at the games.
Now this bit
happens very fast (the start only lasts for about five seconds)
but is key to get a quick time.
All I was worried
about though was making sure I didn't slip on the ice (I was wearing
spiked shoes) and that I managed to get in the bob safely.
I did and what
followed was the most exhilarating experience of my life.
GB team pushing |
The g-forces
are incredible but what struck me was how raw the ride was with
ice flashing past you at great speed.
It can also
be bumpy and bruised shoulders are the norm.
Sixty seconds
later and it was all over. I admit I was really frightened during
the run, but in a strange way it was the most fun I'd ever had.
Time to do it
again!
For my second
ride though I sat in the four-man craft as I wasn't ready to 'load'
(jumping into the bob) at speed.
This time the
run was even more fun as I was relaxed and knew what to expect.
So a new bobsleigher
was born and now I'm training to increase my power using heavy weights,
sprinting and pushing the bob at Bath University.
Next month I'm
learning to drive bobsleighs at the army's training camp in Austria,
and if all goes to plan then I should be selected for our European
team next year.
Tony Arnese
Tony Arnese
with the GB team in Lillehammer |
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