Taylor Lawrence: From a chance trial to one of GB’s most successful bobsleighers

The four-man crew finished sixth in the Beijing Olympics in 2022, which was the best result of all the Team GB skeleton and bobsleigh teams who endured a tough Games.

When he first joined the squad they were not funded, but bobsleigh did subsequently receive £1.5m from UK Sport before Beijing. For the Milan 2026 cycle, bobsleigh has been awarded £2.8m after a £900,000 uplift in August 2023.

To put it into context, the powerhouse Germany teams spend £2m a year on research and development alone.

“We do the best with what we have,” Lawrence said.

“The extra UK Sport funding has allowed us to look at different R&D bits, new two-man and four-man sleds, different aero parts etc.

“That costs a lot of money, but when you’re in a sport that is won by hundredths of a second, it’s all those little bits that help.”

The season following the Beijing Games was British bobsleigh’s most successful non-Olympic year, but the start of Lawrence’s 2023-24 campaign was delayed after Hall had back surgery. On his return, the four-man team carried on where they had left off with a podium in Lillehammer.

They are currently in Norway training before the season starts in Altenberg, Germany in December. The countdown is firmly on to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The track in Cortina is still being constructed, which Lawrence said will pose a new challenge for the teams.

“The main thing will be who gets to grips with the track the quickest,” he explained.

But he is bullish about Team GB’s medal chances as they aim for a first bobsleigh gold since 1964.

“Obviously we want gold, but we will be looking for an Olympic medal,” said Lawrence.

“Anything less than that and we’ll come away disappointed because we know how good we are.

“We’re competing against the same people day in and day out from the World Cup circuit so we know we can beat them. It’s just having those stars aligned.”