Power, speed and and explosive nature are all requirements to getting a four man and a two man bobsleigh going from a standing start to going fast. With three sprinters of a world class nature and then a driver who also needs to be a quality sprinter, required for a four man bobsleigh, talent identification is vital. John Jackson has already proved that he is up there with the best drivers in the world after some stunning performances in the North American World Cup races in November and December. Now the news that Craig Pickering, a former GB 100m champion, has elected to try out for the four man ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics, has set the buzz'ometer off the scale.
The American Bobsleigh team have long been masters in luring some of the their best track and field athletes across yet this is a major coup for the GB Bobsleigh programme.
Gary Anderson told Racer Ready not long after the news had been made public that "We must continue to seek the performance advantage that will allow us to challenge the best in the world. We invest heavily in technology and equipment and we must continue to invest in athlete development and recruitment. We have an aim that our 4-man crew become one of the fastest starting crews in the world adding an athlete of Craig's calibre to the mix again raises the bar, that said he is going to have to work very hard to break into the current GBR 1 set up."
The GB Bobsleigh programme is one of the best in the world and this will make the squad stronger in a sport where every hundredth counts.