Mark Lewis-Francis, former Olympic 4 x 100m relay champion has decided to join the GB Bob Sleigh team as he wants to go for the double – Rio 2016 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
Lewis- Francis, 33, won gold back in 2004 at the Athens Games and after being out from injury for both Beijing and London 2012 he’s certainly hungry for another gold medal.
Despite only knowing sprinting, Lewis-Francis believes that he ‘can be a great track athlete and a great bob sleigher’.
The GB Bobsleigh team seem to think so too.
Gary Anderson, GB Bob Sleigh Performance Director thinks he will be a great benefit to the team, as not only is he a British sprinter but ‘he’s an Olympic champion and he knows how to win!’
After the GB Bob Sleigh team missed the podium spot by 0.11 at the Sochi Olympics, the team have realised that they need to be within the fastest world starters to compete for medal position.
And with Lewis-Francis in the side, they believe that he can quicken up their starts to push them onto Olympic and World medals.
The switch from sprinting to bob-sleighing might seem odd, however many British sprinters have done the same.
GB team-mates Simeon Williamson and Joel Fearon are already part of the British bobsleigh setup and fellow 2004 Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener has already competed in the 2008 GB Bobsleigh championships.
With the World Championships next year and Rio 2016 in the summer, Lewis- Francis has a lot to learn, but has already impressed the GB team in pre-season training.
It’s an exciting time for Lewis- Francis, because who knows, he could do the double and bring home medals from both the summer and winter olympics!
