Brad Hall believes British Bobsleigh’s strength in depth can fire them all the way to the Olympic podium after winning his second World Cup medal in as many days in Sigulda.
After claiming two-man silver alongside Greg Cackett on Saturday, the British pilot extended his super sliding exploits by partnering brakeman Nick Gleeson to the same colour medal just 24 hours later.
Germans Francesco Friedrich – a 12-time world champion – and Thorsten Margis grabbed gold by 0.06s on Sunday but Hall, joined by a different brakeman in Gleeson, held their nerve when it mattered to throw down another Olympic marker.
And the Crawley star, who sits fifth in the World Cup rankings with two races of the season remaining, said: “It’s another great result and another race where we’ve proved we’re serious Olympic medal contenders.
Super sliding in Sigulda 💪@BobsleighBrad & @nickgleeson_ win 🥈 adding to the women's 🥈 this morning!
— Team GB (@TeamGB) January 2, 2022
It’s also two slivers in two days for Brad Hall 🙌 pic.twitter.com/4Cp6HP8O3x
“That’s two medals in two days with two different brakemen so that shows that we’ve got real strength across the team.
“Nick and Greg have been so close to each other in all the testing we do on and off the ice so it’s great to see Nick get his first two-man medal.
“We wanted to be consistently challenging for medals this season and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
“We feel like we can be in the mix every time we step on the start line and that’s great for our confidence ahead of the Olympics.
“Nick did a great job and responded with a faster start in Run 2 when we were close to the gold medal. That’s all you can ask for when you’re in that position.”
Hall and Gleeson’s medal rounded off an unforgettable weekend for British Bobsleigh after Mica McNeill and Adele Nicoll had also won silver in the women’s event on Sunday morning.
Pilot McNeill, 28, and brakewoman Nicoll, 25, claimed the first female World Cup medal won by a British sledder for 13 years to follow up Hall and Cackett’s magical display a day earlier.
And Sunday afternoon brought about yet another memorable moment for the team as Hall and Gleeson – who sat second after the first run – matched the Germans’ time of 49.70s in the second to finish narrowly behind them and topple home Latvian favourites Oskars Kibermanis and Matiss Miknis.
No British driver has ever won an overall World Cup medal but Hall sits just 28 points behind third-placed Justin Kripps in the standings with two races remaining in Winterburg and St Moritz.
Sunday’s silver also marked Gleeson’s maiden World Cup medal and the British brakeman, who is also a serving paratrooper, added: “It feels good to get my first 2-man medal after coming close before.
“I’d had success in the 4-man this season so it’s great to transfer that to the 2-man.
“Credit to Brad - he’s driven brilliantly this weekend, just as he has all season.
“Greg gave him a strong platform yesterday and I did the same today and he brought it home like we know he can.
“This year is all about building momentum for the Olympics and we’re definitely doing that.”
Image credit: @rekords