Mixed emotions for Nicoll

Adelé Nicoll says she’s proud of her performance in the weekend’s Women’s Bobsleigh race at the World Championships in Winterberg but admits it was a bitter sweet experience.

Nicoll placed 11th with Kya Placide at her maiden global championships as the Welsh pair made light of their lack of ice time to finish inside the top half of a 24-strong field in Germany.

The 27-year-old has only been in the front seat of a sled since the start of the current Olympic cycle so the result was definitely ahead of schedule but Nicoll insists her pride was accompanied by a sense of what could have been.

Nicoll and Placide sat seventh after three of the four heats and were all set to equal the country’s best women’s result at a World Championships since Nicola Minichello and Gillian Cooke won gold in Lake Placid 15 years ago.

A frustrating final run saw them slip back four spots in an incredibly tightly bunched field and that meant Nicoll headed for home both happy and disappointed with the end result. 

“It was a bag of mixed emotions, to be honest,” said Nicoll.

It was our first World Championships and, had we have held 11th the entire way through the competition, we'd have been over the moon with the result. 

“To hold seventh for three runs is something I can be extremely proud of. Consistency over all four runs will come with experience and to be already fighting with the 10 best teams in the World after just one season of 2-woman racing is incredible.”

Adelé Nicoll had a lot to smile about at the World Championships

Nicoll entered the World Championships with just a brace of World Cup appearances to her name in the 2-woman discipline so to finish so close to the top 10 is a huge achievement.

Having come ninth in the Monobob seven days earlier, she again showed her potential to compete with the very best in the world and its that realisation as to what is possible that will now drive her on towards the Milan Cortina Olympics in two years’ time.

“We're only gutted about the weekend’s result because we know what we are capable of. We showed everyone a glimpse of what we can do,” added Nicoll, who is also the reigning British Shot Putt Champion.

“It wouldn't be elite sport if it were easy and all happened at once. A lot has been achieved this season. We’ve gone above expectations but there's more to learn and more to gain. 

Last year we were talking about whether it would be possible to learn how to pilot and scrape qualification for the 2026 Olympic Games. Now we're talking about going there to be competitive. That's insane progress. 

“Thank you to everyone for the support. We are so determined to get the Union flag on the women's podium at future events.”

World Championship results:

Women's Skeleton: Stoecker 4th; Coltman 6th
Men's Skeleton: Weston 2nd; Wyatt 4th; Thompson 8th
Skeleton Mixed Team Competition: Stoecker & Weston 2nd; Coltman & Wyatt 4th
Women's Monobob: Nicoll 9th
2-man Bobsleigh: Hall & Lawrence 4th; Stanbridge & Hullah 23rd
Women's Bobsleigh: Nicoll & Placide 11th
4-man Bobsleigh: Hall, Greenwood, Lawrence & Cackett 6th; Baird, Hullah, Milward & Dixon 18th