A sled named Arthur guides Williams
Amy Williams owes much to the engineering students behind the design of her gold-medal winning skeleton bob
While Amy Williams took the plaudits of a grateful nation, the other “member” of the duo that won Britain’s first winter Olympics individual gold medal for 30 years was taking a well-earned rest back at the athletes’ village in Whistler.
World, meet Arthur the Sled. “You name a boat, so why would I not name a sled?” said Williams of the 33kg contraption that carried her down the Whistler sliding track. “He comes around with me everywhere in winter, a lot of hassle at airports because he is so heavy. You have to bond with your sled, know how it works, its characteristics. Sometimes I don’t speak to him, other times I do. I always give him a pat at the end of my race. Yesterday I gave him a few pats.”
Also on the receiving end of a few pats from Williams were Rachel Blackburn and James Roche, a pair of post-graduate engineering students at the University of Southampton who designed the sled as part of their doctoral thesis.
“The concept is mine but there’s a massive group of people that came together and expertise from everywhere,” said Blackburn, a one-time sailor who has a degree in ship science. “I knew nothing about the sport. I came at it purely from an engineering point of view. I thought what’s out there and how can we make it better. There were existing sleds that we could modify but there was too much to modify and we decided to start from scratch. It’s the balance between the stiffness of the chassis for speed versus the sensitivity for the control. If you can’t get the lines but you have the speed, then you’re going to crash. It’s achieving that fine balance for each individual.”
Blackburn and Roche, who have formed a company together, Blackroc, started work on the sled four years ago, backed with money from UK Sport and logistical and practical support from upwards of 20 UK companies, including BA Systems and the McLaren Formula One team. “Many a time I’ve had dreams, I’ve had nightmares, I’ve thought that’s a great idea and then it’s not worked,” said Blackburn.
“Then we came up with some concept designs and, before anything was made, we went and got approval and more suggestions from McLaren and they said, ‘Go for it.’ From that point on we had more belief. You can do drawings and you can try and perfect it but until you’ve actually made it and tried it, you don’t know.”
Once the sled was built, it was tweaked and tweaked again. Williams took a few bruises and some ice burns before the design team were happy. Their confidence was bolstered when the British slider came second at the world championships last year, although Blackburn and Roche arrived in Vancouver with hope more than expectation. “It is unbelievable that Amy won the gold. Realistically we didn’t talk about medals or pressure or any of that, we just wanted everyone to do the best they could,” Blackburn said.
In the end Williams’ best was good enough to beat the rest of the world. But will it be good enough to earn the design team of Blackburn and Roche the doctorate degrees from the University of Southampton? They will find out for sure in September, when their studies officially end, but the answer is already clear. Passed. And with honours.
Fearless and fast: why Amy Williams is Britain’s new queen of speed
Britain’s Vancouver gold medallist may appear down to earth and family oriented but she is a steely professional underneath
Amy Williams made it all the way to the medal ceremony before her unbroken run of success at Vancouver came to an end. “Don’t blub,” Britain’s Winter Games’ gold medallist told herself before she got to the podium. But blub she did, though none would blame her for that.
The sight of her proud parents, Ian and Jan, in the crowd was one thing. So, too, was the fact that the timing of the ceremony meant she could not fulfil a promise to be by the side of her boyfriend, Slovak bobsleigher Petr Narovec, while he took part in his event, as he had been there for her. But most of all perhaps, was the realisation that all the hard work and sacrifices, both her own and of those around her, had been worth it.
The view from the top of the medal podium is a wondrous thing, not least because it endows those privileged enough to enjoy it with the opportunity to show their true selves to the country whose flag they represent. This was, and will be, Williams’ chance. Her moment in the spotlight.
Skeleton slider being some way down in the celebrity athlete pecking order than libidinous Premier League footballers, Britain did not know Williams before her triumph on the infamous Whistler sliding track. But it will now, and the chances are the nation will not be disappointed.
The daughter of a chemistry professor and former midwife, as well as a twin, she is that quintessential Winter Olympic creation – the steely professional wrapped in the skin of guileless amateur. Williams may also be bubbly, fresh-faced and friendly in person, but she is also the consummate competitor, able to the block out the rest of the world – a trait that served her well in the aftermath of the tragedy that cost the life of the Nodar Kumaritashvili on the same Whistler track.
“The athletes probably had an increase in nerves because of the whole drama but to be honest I was not much more than I would have been. Once the first day of training was over I thought, ‘I’m fine, get on with it’,” she said yesterday, looking back. “I am probably pretty fearless compared with most people but I am always nervous first day of training on any track. But once I have been down the first time I settle down to it and get on with the job.”
Williams did more than that.Despite her second-place finish in last year’s world championships few had identified her as a potential British success, with most of attention being focused on the 2006 silver medallist Shelley Rudman.
That changed as soon as the training runs for the women’s skeleton started. Rudman struggled, complaining that she was finding it difficult to get used to the track. Williams, meanwhile, surprised everyone, including one suspects herself, with a succession of strong runs. “I always seem to have better results on fast tracks,” she said. “Maybe I just let it happen. I think lots of people were scared here of the speed and you tense up too much and your sled doesn’t work.”
Williams carried that approach into the event itself, which quickly became a procession rather than a competition. Two track records in her first three runs made her fourth and final trip down the track a formality. If she stayed on the tray the gold would be hers. “I felt I didn’t have anything to lose. I was nervous because my legs and muscles felt really tense on the run but once I was on the sled I felt really happy,” she recalled.
Waiting for her at the bottom of the run were her parents and a small gaggle of British fans, not to mention a world that will never be the same again. “The prime minister sent me a message,” she said, genuinely thrilled to have been contacted by Gordon Brown.
Still, she will learn there are even greater advantages to being a national sporting heroine than messages of support from No10. She has already benefited from financial support from UK Sport, but you get the sense that interest of any kind from sponsors would be gratefully received. The life of a female skeleton slider is not a lucrative one, clearly.
“UK Sport have been very good to us. They have supported us once we achieved certain results but it has still been very hard over the years,” she said. “I have to count my pennies every month to see that I have enough. It is tough but every athlete, however tough it is, finds ways with family support and friends. I didn’t want to get a full-time job because I wanted to train hard and my parents luckily didn’t kick me out, I lived at home to save money so I could play the sport.”
If that sounded like a sales pitch or litany of complaint, it wasn’t meant to be so. Williams was simply being herself – grateful for what she has and grateful to those who have helped her fulfil her dream.
“She is punctual, nice, kind,” said Nickey Gruenberger, coach of the British skeleton team, when asked to described Britain’s newest gold medallist. “She is not at all selfish. She is a team player. She is really, really special.”
Williams holds back tears at ceremony
• Amy Williams receives gold medal before cheering crowds
• ‘I did have tears when I saw the scenes at my local pub’
Amy Williams promised to toast her Olympic skeleton gold medal with “a sip of champagne” after being presented with it in front of a cheering crowd at the Whistler Medals Plaza.
Williams held back tears as the Union Jack was raised over a Winter Olympic podium for the first time since Rhona Martin’s curling team took gold at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
But she admitted she had shed tears earlier in the day, when she paused to view internet footage of her brother and twin sister cheering her home on TV in the local pub in Bath. Williams said: “I’m going to have a sip of champagne tonight but I’m going to save the party for when I get home. I did have tears when I saw the scenes at my local pub. It really choked me up.”
Williams insisted the experience of being awarded her medal in such a public way had scared her and her two German rivals, who won silver and bronze, far more than throwing themselves head-first down a 90mph ice track.
She added: “All three of us were just shaking before going on. To have the medal now is just incredible. I didn’t think I would get a medal – I was just hoping to do better than my training runs.
“I’ve been in a bubble since I won and it feels like it’s got thicker. It feels a little bit more real now that I’m holding the medal. I’ve had a message of congratulations from the Prime Minister and the whole thing is amazing.”
Olympic dream comes true for Amy and Arthur
Skeleton star who vowed to win in Vancouver secures Britain’s first solo Winter Olympics gold for 30 years with help from her trusty sled, Arthur
A vow that Amy Williams made as a teenager after watching the Salt Lake City Games eight years ago was fulfilled last night when she became Britain’s first solo Winter Olympics gold medallist for 30 years.
Williams, 27, a keen artist nicknamed “Curly Wurly” because of her frizzy hair, said she was “absolutely speechless” after her victory in the women’s skeleton on board the trusty sled she has named Arthur. “Arthur was great, we bonded, we did well together, he behaved himself. He was a bit cheeky on my first run today, by nearly tipping me off. I’ve got on really well in my sliding, Arthur and Amy did very well today,” she said.
Her performance in Vancouver was all the more remarkable as Britain does not have a full skeleton track for her to train on, apart from a dry starting section near Bath. She is Britain’s first individual gold medallist at the Winter Olympics since figure skater Robin Cousins triumphed at Lake Placid in 1980.
Williams said fear of failure after being a reserve in Turin four years ago had spurred her to victory. She had been a stand-in for Shelley Rudman, Britain’s only skeleton competitor in Italy, who won silver in 2006 but was a disappointing sixth in Vancouver.
Williams’s parents were in Whistler to see her triumph. Her mother, Jan, a former midwife, peered from behind her white mittens as her daughter sped along the track at up to 93mph but led the cheers when she claimed gold. “I am extremely proud of what she has achieved and all the hard work she has put in has paid off today, it’s just amazing to be here and share it with her,” she said. “I just want to give her a hug.”
Her father, Ian, a chemistry professor at Bath University, said: “After the third run it was her race to lose, but I didn’t think she was going to do that this time. It was just brilliant.”
Family and friends were yesterday celebrating her success back at home. Williams’s twin sister, Ruth, and brother Simon were among a crowd watching the action at 1.30am at her local pub, the Pulteney Arms in Bath. “I was jumping up and down with Simon like a lunatic,” Ruth said. “There were loads of family. It still really has not sunk in. I am having to pinch myself. We have had very little sleep over the past 48 hours. I cannot quite believe that my twin sister is an Olympic champion.”
Landlord Martin Cooper said about 60 people turned up for champagne and hot dogs. “They were going to watch at home and then decided to group together and that home wasn’t big enough,” he said. “It’s absolutely amazing for her. To go to the Olympics is amazing, but to win is incredible for her and her family. She is a lovely person.”
Williams, who is studying sports performance at Bath, said she had made great sacrificesover the last four years. “I’ve just worked really hard. I’ve done everything possible in my physical training, mental training, everything with my coaches, runners, every single possible thing, my health, my diet,” she said. “Every decision I made was: ‘Is this going to help me go to the Olympics or not?’ I’ve probably been a bit of a bore for the past few years and probably haven’t given my friends enough attention, but it has all paid off.”
Skeleton sliding was reintroduced to the Winter Olympics at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where Britain’s Alex Coomber won bronze. Williams, originally a 400m runner, decided to switch disciplines after watching Coomber. Until seeing it on TV, she had no idea what skeleton was. She reputedly complained of “not really liking it” after her first go, but persevered at an army ice camp in Lillehammer, Norway, not wanting to “appear like a wimp in front of the army guys”. Last year Williams won a silver medal in the world championships at Lake Placid and another silver in the world cup race in Whistler, establishing a fierce sporting rivalry with Rudman.
Now a 20-1 shot to win the BBC’s sports personality of the year trophy, Williams admitted she had been “a bit nervous” in the changing room prior to the fourth and final run in the Olympics, but thought she had nothing to lose. “I didn’t think I’d be standing here now. It was all a blur.”
Williams makes her mark in Vancouver
Britain’s first individual gold medallist for 30 years must prepare for life in the fast lane after skeleton victory
Life will never be the same for Amy Williams, but as she took a seat in the aftermath of her gold-medal victory in the Olympic skeleton event, her face flushed and a union flag still draped around her neck, she looked undaunted.
“I’ll embrace it all, even though I haven’t got a clue what it is going to be like,” she said. “I will just have to wait until I get home and see what it is like.”
She will, but there are some things that can be safely predicted, not least that the anonymity that followed her to Vancouver is now a thing of the past. She arrived in Canada as the lesser known (by some distance) of Britain’s two women’s sliders – behind Shelley Rudman, who won silver in Turin four years ago – and will depart as a history maker; the first Briton to win a winter Olympics individual gold since Robin Cousins, in the men’s figure skating at Lake Placid in 1980. The search for the last woman to pull off the same feat must go back all the way to 1952, with Jeannette Altwegg in the women’s figure skating competition.
It is safe to say, too, that the country will embrace the personable 27-year-old from Bath, the daughter of a chemistry professor and a former midwife.
Bubbly and with a mop of unruly long hair (her friends have nicknamed her “Curly Wurly”), Williams was an accomplished 400m runner and a budding artist until she discovered the skeleton. The year was 2002.
From ingénue to Olympic champion in just six years. Who could not fail to be impressed? Even Rudman, with whom Williams has a relationship as cool as Whistler’s night air, rushed past waiting journalists so she could watch her rival come down the track for the fourth and final time. “She came up and congratulated me afterwards,” said Williams, momentarily putting up her guard. “I have got respect for her as an athlete and I always have done. It’s nice that she came up and said ‘well done’.”
Clearly, Britain’s two finest skeleton riders are never going to be best friends. Still, it is not as if Williams is short of friends – her brother and sister, along with a legion of friends, watched her victory and partied Friday night away in a pub near her family home in Bath. Nor is she short of high-profile admirers, Steve Redgrave being among them.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist was trackside to watch Williams’s winning run and to hear the Team GB backroom staff testify to her coolness under pressure. “Before her race,” Redgrave said, “I spoke to some of the guys and they couldn’t believe how calm she was, and I was thinking, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
“I have been in the races where you get over the line in six minutes and you either finished first or third or sixth. To have all the waiting around time that she had [the Olympic skeleton event takes place over two days] is pretty tough – I know it would have been for me – and that we would find out what she was made of.”
Suffice to say, Williams was not found wanting at any time during a week that had many competitors in the sliding events daunted by the track that claimed the life of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. “That was on the mind of all of us. It was definitely on my mind, but I had to tell myself, even though it was the same track, the skeleton is a different sport, with different steers and different equipment,” she said. “It is a really fast track. From corner 10 onwards, you can’t really see what you are doing because your head is on the ice and there is so much pressure. But you just have to go by feeling. You can feel that roof coming towards you and you have just got to hold tight.”
Williams held tight from the first day of practise, surpassing even her own expectations while others, including Rudman, faltered. It was a similar story when the event started as she produced two track records in three runs to open up a half-second gap on her closest challenger.
That set her up for a final run for which the principal challenge facing her was simply to stay on the sled she has christened Arthur. “I didn’t know how others had gone, but I knew this was the gold-medal run. I knew I had a big margin, but anything can happen,” Williams said.
All that happened was that Williams confirmed she was better than the rest, although when she crossed the finishing line her first thought was that she had lost. “I looked up at the board and all I could see was the number three. I thought I’d finished third.”
The raucous celebrations of the British fans and the sight of her mother crying in the stand soon put her right. She had won, although confirmation did not come for another hour while the judges ruled on a spurious challenge by the Canadian team, which objected to the design of her helmet. “They are obviously disappointed and they have to find something to bring me down,” she said.
There is little chance of that. Williams is staying in Vancouver until the Games end next weekend to watch her boyfriend – a member of the Slovak bobsleigh team – compete and to catch a few other events. “I hope someone from Team GB will be able to get me some tickets,” she said. One suspects they will.
Williams ends GB’s 30-year wait for gold
• Britain’s first individual gold since 1980
• ‘I love this track – the speed is your friend’
Great Britain planted its flag on the medal table last night with the most precious metal of all as Amy Williams won the women’s skeleton event. It was Britain’s first individual gold at a Winter Olympics since Robin Cousins took the men’s figure skating title at Lake Placid in 1980.
Williams, who travelled to Vancouver as the No2 skeleton slider in the British team, behind Shelley Rudman, winner of the silver medal in Turin, swept aside the competition on the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre, with a winning margin of 0.56sec.
Two course records in her three runs left the 27-year-old with a half-second lead over her closest challenger, Melissa Hollingsworth of Canada, going into the fourth and final round of competition. Nothing is ever certain in the skeleton, especially on this controversial Whistler track, but with that kind of advantage Williams needed only to stay on her sledge to win. She did exactly that, and with aplomb.
“I love this track,” she said. “Once you get over the fear factor you learn to love it and the speed is your friend. You’ve got to work with it and relax and if you do that it’s a great track to slide.”
Williams insisted she had never let her position as overnight leader play on her mind. “I surprised myself because I wasn’t really nervous,” she said. “I slept absolutely perfectly and I was quite excited. It doesn’t feel like an Olympic Games – it just feels like a normal World Cup race except with more people shouting for me.
“I’m not very good at statistics so I didn’t realise I’m the first (individual) gold medallist for a long time. But I think it shows that if you have the determination any country can be good at any sport and you just have to concentrate and do your best.”
Her victory is the first British gold medal at the winter Olympics since Rhona Martin’s women’s curling squad prevailed at Salt Lake City. Before that Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean won gold in the ice dancing at Sarajevo in 1984.
It came at an opportune moment for the 52-member British team, which had secured a best-placed finished of eighth – by Zoe Gillings in the women’s snowboard cross. It also represented a ringing endorsement of the decision by UK Sport to invest £2.1m – out a total of £5.8 spent on winter sports ñ in the skeleton event.
She has been competing in the skeleton since 2002 and won silver at last year’s world championships in Lake Placid, New York, and lives in Bath, training at her event and working on a degree in sports performance at Bath University.
Meanwhile, Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal won a crash-strewn super-G yesterday to deny the American Bode Miller a first Olympic gold and claim his second medal in a week having taken silver in Monday’s opening downhill ahead of third-placed Miller.
The charging Miller, who was 11th out of the start hut on a bright and crisp morning, had to settle for the third silver of his career to become the first American to win four Alpine Olympic medals. His team- mate Andrew Weibrecht, who had started third, was a surprise bronze medallist on another good day for the U.S. skiers who also have a gold and two silvers from two women’s races.
The Norwegian started 19th on Friday, with Miller’s time of 1:30.62 looking good for gold until then, and was faster by 0.28. “I think I carried a lot of speed through Coach’s Corner, I made a small mistake before that but managed to carry the speed and it worked out,” Svindal said.
Norway’s Marit Bjoergen dominated the women’s cross-country 15km pursuit oto claim her second gold and third overall medal. She completed the course in 39min 58.1sec, 8.9sec quicker than Sweden’s Anna Haag. Bjoergen stalked the leaders for much of the race before taking command at the 9km mark.