ADELE NOCOLL described her opening monobob runs as “solid” rather than spectacular, but said she was satisfied to have produced two clean drives on her Olympic debut – and believes there is still time to find more speed.
The 27-year-old from Welshpool is making history as the first Welsh woman to compete for Britain in the monobob at this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
After the first heat she sat 13th, around 1.1 seconds off the leader, and admitted to feeling “relieved” to have shaken off her nerves. She said she is now “excited” to attack the remaining heats with greater aggression.
Nicoll spoke of how different the pressure feels as a pilot compared with her experience travelling as a reserve in Beijing four years ago, adding that simply lining up at the Olympic start in the front seat was “a win in itself” after years of work to earn the role.
She has also framed the experience in Cortina d’Ampezzo as both a result and a learning opportunity, saying she wants to leave knowing she pushed herself technically on one of the toughest tracks in the world. Any push for the top 10, she added, would be “a bonus” on top of breaking new ground as Britain’s first women’s monobob Olympian.
Nicoll completes her monobob campaign on Monday, with heat three due to start at 6pm and the final heat at 8.06pm. She is then scheduled to compete in the two-woman event later in the bobsleigh programme for Team GB.
