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Montell Douglas, operating the 100 meters, photograph by British Athletics
Montell Douglas, 2022 Beijing Olympics, photograph by @rekords on Instagram and British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Affiliation
Montell Douglas: The transition from monitor to bobsleigh
One of many first issues former Olympic sprinter, Montell Douglas, feels that she brings to bobsleigh as she prepares for the winter Olympics is her psychological energy. “I believe I introduced my tenacity. I do wish to push myself. I wish to be taught new issues and to use them. I say: ‘how can I push this; how can I be higher?’ When it is late on in your profession and also you’re altering sports activities, you’ll want to do that and you’ll want to do it shortly as a result of you do not have time to waste and never be studying stuff. So these are some issues I hope I’ve introduced. I believe I additionally introduced perspective. And I hope I have been a great teammate to the opposite ladies”.
When she was recruited, she was instructed that bobsleigh required “larger, sooner, stronger ladies”. She explains additional: “It additionally relies upon what sort of athlete you might be. In an Olympic 100m ultimate eight ladies line up however they’re totally different sorts of athletes – some taller, some smaller, some stronger – every with totally different attributes. Not all of them would essentially do effectively in a bob. It is determined by what sort of athlete you might be and what you are bringing to the desk. Folks from the skin have a look at bobsleigh and say ‘Oh, you might be operating and pushing’ however there’s extra to it than simply sprinting behind the bob! I needed to work on growing my attributes lots”.
Monty is tall, which she thinks is a bonus in her new sport: “I believe that bobsleigh folks would typically say tall is sweet. They need tall, robust, heavier, highly effective ladies who can transfer shortly. That will be the best bobsleigher. However bobsleighers, throughout the board, look very totally different. I’m tall however I’ve very lengthy limbs. So it isn’t simply that I am 5:10, I’ve nearly bought 6:2 limbs. In some ways in which’s a problem to be behind the bob, which, for me, could be very low however you need to work round issues and discover a option to get the job performed. And I’ve had a number of good coaches round me to slender that hole”.
Montell Douglas, 2022 Beijing Olympics, photograph by @rekords on Instagram and British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Affiliation
The necessities of velocity and energy need to be balanced. I bear in mind Toni Minichiello, saying of heptathlete, Jess Ennis, that she would throw additional if she was heavier however then she can be slower within the sprints. He described the teaching drawback as spinning plates. Monty applies the dilemma to bobsleigh: “I’ve gained 10 kilos in comparison with my first Olympic Video games. I am lots heavier since you want the mass to maneuver the bobsleigh and naturally, the burden goes to sluggish me down so I needed to stability these parts to make sure that my efficiency was nonetheless on the excessive stage that it wanted to be”.
There have been additional changes to make as she sought to use her sprinting skills to the duty of pushing a bob: “I believe for me it was a steeper studying curve as a result of, after I evaluated it, to see what I needed to do to get behind the bob and get higher, I needed to discover methods to do this, methods, and never simply react to what I used to be being taught. I am an “in-flight sprinter” [Meaning the best part of my running is when I’m at a maximum velocity… the time between 30-60m, for example] and my better part is after I’m in-flight and I’ve to work so arduous at my acceleration to construct that up as a quick begin is important in bobsleigh”.
She additionally thinks that maybe totally different sports activities entice totally different folks varieties: “There are the totally different character varieties in sport. And you might say that almost all winter sports activities are excessive sports activities. As an athlete, I used to be operating a straight line. That requires me to be athletic however there’s nothing excessive about it and I believe the character varieties are extraordinarily vital for the game you going to do. That provides to it and the explanation we’re good at it’s maybe that our character is a bit manic. You do need to be a bit nuts to throw your self down an ice mountain at 80-90mph. I used to be going to say was no brakes – however you do not need the brakes on to attain the outcomes you need!
“In athletics, sprinters aren’t like marathon runners. An extended jumper just isn’t much like a pole vaulter. Typically they’ve totally different personalities. In my athletics days I might typically keep up very late while you’re presupposed to go to mattress early however sprinters, typically, try this. Maybe it was our character sort and is that why we had been sprinters? I believe it is the identical with the bob and winter sports activities”.
The purpose of competing within the Olympics is to win a medal and Monty is formidable however real looking: “You do not need to deal with the medal however on the efficiency and the method as a result of you possibly can’t really impression the outcome. All you are able to do is your finest. And your finest may equal the highest 10 or it’d equal the highest three. You’ll be able to set real looking objectives however on the similar time you’ll want to deal with doing all of your job and meaning preparation and ensuring we are the healthiest, fittest, quickest, strongest that we have ever been”.
The Girls’s Bobsleigh takes place on 18 and 19 February.
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