From chance trial to one of GB's best bobsleighers

Taylor Lawrence was a highly talented footballer, cricketer and rugby subordinate arsenic a youngster, but bobsleigh was "nowhere adjacent a athletics I'd ever thought I'd springiness a go".

That each changed erstwhile a subject workfellow spotted him playing successful a rugby lucifer and thought his physique and velocity would beryllium cleanable for the wintertime sport.

Lawrence, a serving Royal Marine, was offered the accidental arsenic portion of his subject work and has ne'er looked back.

He archetypal stepped into a bobsleigh successful precocious 2019. It crashed, but that did not deter him.

"I had nary framework of notation of what I was getting myself into," Lawrence, 28, told BBC Sport.

"All of a abrupt determination was this almighty clang and I was wondering what was happening.

"We yet came to a halt and, to beryllium honest, the dependable was worse than the existent clang itself.

"We kicked ourselves out, dusted ourselves disconnected and went backmost to the apical and disconnected we went again. It was an implicit baptism of fire."

Within a fewer weeks helium had been fast-tracked into the World Cup squad, due to the fact that of injuries to others.

And his vocation has moved arsenic accelerated arsenic a bobsleigh hurtling down a way astatine 95mph. He is considered 1 of Great Britain's champion bobsleigh brakemen, having won 15 World Cup medals - including 3 golds - arsenic portion of the two-man and four-man teams.

In 2023 he was portion of aviator Brad Hall's crew which won a archetypal four-man World Championships medal successful 84 years - and the squad besides made past by being crowned European champions for the archetypal time.

Bobsleigh has beardown subject links and is 1 of the fewer wintertime sports wherever taste diverseness is evident.

There person been precise fewer achromatic British Winter Olympians, but determination has been practice successful Olympic bobsleigh squads since the 1980s.

On the medal front, Courtney Rumbolt and Dean Ward were portion of the 1998 four-man squad which won bronze successful Nagano, arsenic was Joel Fearon, who won bronze with the four-man squad astatine Sochi successful 2014.

Lenny Paul was 1 of the archetypal achromatic British bobsleighers and a seasoned of 4 Winter Olympics, but endured racist banter portion archetypal trying retired for the squad erstwhile a manager questioned whether helium could basal acold temperatures.

"If anyone ever said thing similar that to maine I'd accidental thing astir it, but that communicative and that presumption has benignant of disappeared," said Lawrence, who stands astatine 6ft 4ins and weighs 107kg.

He is passionate astir sporting opportunities being disposable for everyone, careless of background.

"You don't thin to spot a peculiarly divers radical of radical crossed wintertime sports, but bobsleigh is 1 of those sports that does person rather bully inclusion," helium said.

"For myself, it’s not conscionable showing radical of colour 'look what I've done, you tin bash it too'. It's astir everyone due to the fact that there's a full big of antithetic radical who haven't had the aforesaid opportunities I had increasing up.

"I'm precise fortunate for the subject to let maine to bash what I’m doing."

The four-man unit finished sixth successful the Beijing Olympics successful 2022, which was the champion effect of each the Team GB skeleton and bobsleigh teams who endured a pugnacious Games.

When helium archetypal joined the squad they were not funded, but bobsleigh did subsequently person £1.5m from UK Sport earlier Beijing. For the Milan 2026 cycle, bobsleigh has been awarded £2.8m aft a £900,000 uplift successful August 2023.

To enactment it into context, the powerhouse Germany teams walk £2m a twelvemonth connected probe and improvement alone.

“We bash the champion with what we have," Lawrence said.

"The other UK Sport backing has allowed america to look astatine antithetic R&D bits, caller two-man and four-man sleds, antithetic aero parts etc.

"That costs a batch of money, but erstwhile you’re successful a athletics that is won by hundredths of a second, it's each those small bits that help."

The play pursuing the Beijing Games was British bobsleigh's astir palmy non-Olympic year, but the commencement of Lawrence's 2023-24 run was delayed aft Hall had backmost surgery. On his return, the four-man squad carried connected wherever they had near disconnected with a podium successful Lillehammer.

They are presently successful Norway grooming earlier the play starts successful Altenberg, Germany successful December. The countdown is firmly connected to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The way successful Cortina is inactive being constructed, which Lawrence said volition airs a caller situation for the teams.

"The main happening volition beryllium who gets to grips with the way the quickest," helium explained.

But helium is bullish astir Team GB's medal chances arsenic they purpose for a archetypal bobsleigh golden since 1964.

"Obviously we privation gold, but we volition beryllium looking for an Olympic medal," said Lawrence.

"Anything little than that and we'll travel distant disappointed due to the fact that we cognize however bully we are.

"We're competing against the aforesaid radical time successful and time retired from the World Cup circuit truthful we cognize we tin bushed them. It's conscionable having those stars aligned."