My journey to the games ended after the last world cup race in Austria, Igls, when crews for the Olympics were announced. I was not selected to go to the Olympics.
Following this news we had to drive back from Austria to the UK as our season was over. This was one of the longest drives of my life. Having spent a large portion of my life dreaming of going to an Olympics and come so close. Gave me a lot of time for contemplation and reflection on what I have achieved and how I was to break the news to my friends and family. Days passed until official announcements were made on the 22nd January 2014 where the support I received was overwhelming. A post from my training partner and close friend, who I started my first talent ID bobsleigh trials with, Ben Simons, posted. It had me in tears for well over a week.
I figured I had to use the anguish to motivate me for another 4 years of training for 2018 Winter Olympics. Finding a job that would allow me to earn some money and keep self-funding along with the time to train as much as I need to was the first challenge. These changes were hard to make while seeing and supporting my team mates who undertook final preparations for the games.
However, one evening I was contacted by a coach who instructed to get out to Germany ASAP to contribute to the holding camp. My Olympic selection had begun again and within 24 hours I was on a plane, train and automobile heading for the German/Austrian border. I was trained and supported the guys who undertook final training sessions before heading off to Sochi, via Moscow. It was only on the evening before everyone departed that I was confirmation that I would be travelling with the team to Sochi. I was going to the Olympic Games!!
As we arrived in Sochi I was given Team GB kit, very similar to the GB Bobsleigh kit but without the adidas stripes. A totally overwhelming experience with supporters and fans asking for pictures and autographs before I had left the airport. We were escorted to a car which drove us up to the mountain Olympic village which would be our base for the time in Sochi. Team GB had set up the house for us really nicely with bottles of water, coke powerade all readily available. During our arrival meeting we were presented with a new phone courtesy of Samsung who sponsors the games. The dining hall was open 24 hours and you could eat as much, or a little in my case, as you liked. Two fully equipped gyms, open 24hours, were also on site as well as games rooms, chill out bar and shops.
However performance comes before perks and as I was selected as the spare athlete I had to drop some weight so that I fit with both crews. I lost just over 7kg in 12 days, I was VERY hungry. But if it meant that I would be able to go in a sled if the worst happened then I was fully prepared to do it. As it turns out I was not required to race, but I was able to attend the closing ceremony. Walking in with all the other athletes from all other nations and sports was amazing and was a really good way to finish the games.
