Beijing 2022 - Greg Rutherford makes first run for Team GB bobsleigh team in Austria as qualification begins
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ByEurosport
Published 14/11/2021 at 12:22 GMT
Greg Rutherford has officially begun life as a bobsledder after making his first run in a bobsleigh while in Igls, Austria. The London 2012 long jump champion is part of a team which includes Olympic bronze medallist Joel Fearon, Toby Olubi and Ben Simons that are bidding to qualify for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
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Greg Rutherford has made his official bobsleigh debut as the London 2012 long jump champion bids to make history at Beijing 2022.
Rutherford was selected in Great Britain’s four-man bobsleigh squad in October.
The 34-year-old, who also won bronze at Rio 2016, is hoping to become the first British athlete to win a medal at both the summer and winter Olympic Games.
But in order to do so, he must qualify for next year's Olympics in Beijing, starting with this weekend's event in Ingls, Austria.
He shared a video on Instagram to mark the milestone of his first run on Saturday.
He wrote: "A massive day in my life and on this incredible bobsleigh journey... It's official.. I can now call myself [a] bobsledder. FIRST EVER RUN!"
The 34-year-old also revealed marks on his lower back.
Rutherford said in his video: "These are the pressure points from the sled. It feels like a hammer, but the pressure isn't released."
To reach the Olympics, three top-12 finishes are required from the seven qualifying events, which finish with the European Championships in San Moritz in January.
Veteran British bobsleigh pilot Lamin Deen told the Independent last month he has been left "gobsmacked" by Rutherford's aptitude for the sport.
He said: "We sent Greg down to work with the coaches and within a week he had learned how to perform in a two-man sled.
“When I saw the footage I was gobsmacked – usually it takes four or five sessions, but he grasped it in the first session and he just kept getting better.
“We took him down to Bath to see how he’d get on with the four-man, and within one session he was blasting it off and jumping on the side and I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it’.”
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