Amy leads Team GB charge in final Vancouver 2010 training

Team GB sliders impressed in their final training sessions ahead of their Olympic competitions

Team GB’s skeleton sliders were in impressive form in their final training sessions ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games competition, which gets underway tomorrow (Thursday) and reaches its climax on Friday.

Amy Williams from Bath led the way in this morning’s final training sessions at the Whistler Sliding Centre, finishing second on both runs. It means she has been second fastest in three of the last four training runs.

The 2009 World Championship silver medallist, who won silver at last year’s World Cup race on the Vancouver 2010 track, said: “Today went well, I stuck to my plan. I had a few corners that I needed to work out.

“I like this track and I haven’t let the speed of the track throw me,” she added. “I managed to enjoy it, and whenever I relax, enjoy it and have fun, it seems to work out. If I can enjoy the track I think the results will follow.

“I’m just taking each day as it comes, and as it happens, the times are good, but I’m not concentrating on the times,” she added.

“It’s a four run race. I’m normally quite consistent and I’m hoping that will pay off.”

Team-mate Shelley Rudman, Team GB’s Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games silver medallist and currently ranked two in the world, also performed well today.

The 28-year-old from Sheffield finished 13th in the first training heat of the day but followed that up with fourth in the next.

“It’s been interesting,” she said. “I could do with 10 more runs on the track. I thought I could correct quite a few corners today, but I’m still having a few problems on the top section. The bottom section is coming.

“The track is tricky to work out, it’s a race against time whether I can put things together or not.

“The next two days will be quite interesting. I’ve had a good season. There are four runs and I can’t afford any mistakes. We will see.”

Former World Champion, Kristan Bromley, representing Team GB at his third Olympic Winter Games, clocked two more consistent runs today, finishing eighth and ninth. It means he has finished in the top 10 in all six of his training runs on the track this week.

The Sheffield slider, known as Dr Ice, said: “I’m in the mix, and that’s all I could ask for. I wasn’t pushing too hard today. I’m saving my legs for the next two days. At this stage in my career I can’t knock out pbs every day.

“I don’t know how anyone else has prepared, you can only really worry about what you’re doing. It’s really down to focusing on your own game plan.”

“Even the Canadians are putting in variable runs. The gap has closed up and hopefully we can fight for some positions tomorrow.

Bath-based Adam Pengilly, silver medallist at last year’s World Championships, was 19th in both of his final runs today.
“Tomorrow is another day. I’ve got some work to do to raise my game tomorrow,” he said.

“My goal is to have four really solid runs. I’ve been struggling a bit for timing. I’m just little bits off here and there. It’s just a case of pulling it all together. If I can start to get it right over the next two days it will be positive.”

Both the men and women will race over four runs, with two on Thursday and two on Friday.

The first two women’s runs are at 16.00 local time (midnight GMT) on Thursday and the final two runs start at 15.45 local time on Friday (23.45 GMT).

The men get their campaign underway at 18.30 local time on Thursday (02.30 GMT Friday) and start their final two runs at 18.20 local time on Friday (02.20 Saturday).