Britain's 21-year-old skeleton athlete Ashleigh Pittaway, who clinched
gold at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer in Norway,
has announced her retirement from the sport.
Chippenham-based skeleton ATHLETE Laura Deas celebrated a bronze medal at the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic Games Photo: British Skeleton WITH less than a year to go until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Chippenham’s Laura Deas believe a strong team spirit is putting British skeleton on the right track to bring more medals back to their University of Bath training base. Seven skeleton medals have been won by Bath-based GB sliders during the past five Winter Games - dating back to 2002 - including bronze for Deas during a historic women’s race at PyeongChang 2018 where team-mate Lizzy Yarnold successfully defended her Olympic title.
YOG champion Pittaway aiming to continue British skeleton legacy OIS
How challenging was 2020 for you?
“It was quite a year of change, I think, because I finished school, and then obviously with the COVID-19 situation, it was quite different. But I actually managed to train more than I used to, now that I have finished school. And I think for me, in terms of sport, it was quite a good year just because I had more time to focus on it.”
Now we’re in 2021, it’s been five years since you competed in the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016. How do you look back on your time there?
Development the focus for British Skeleton team this Friday 12/09/20
British Skeleton began the season in style in Latvia last month but it is athlete development rather than medal success that will be the focus in Austria this weekend and next.
Marcus Wyatt won the country’s first men’s World Cup medal for seven years just under a fortnight ago and Laura Deas twice recorded her best result for 21 months in the opening two races, while Ashleigh Pittaway produced a World Cup PB and Craig Thompson secured a top six spot in Sigulda.
But none of those four athletes will be racing in Igls this Friday and next as the opportunity to impress is handed to a group of sliders with far less experience but no shortage of potential.