|
 IT might not be as unlikely as a Jamaican bobsleigh team, but Wales had a representative in the bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics in Turin this year.
Newport's Dan Humphries, who until a few years ago had never been in a bobsleigh, played a part in both the two-man and four-man squads.
Brakeman Humphries, 26, is an RAF senior aircraftman, and the double British champion partnered Lee Johnston in the two-man team, while joining Karl Johnston, Marcus Adam and Martin Wright in the four-man bob.
Humphries was born and brought up in Rogiet, Newport, and used to watch the event when he was growing up. "It was something I always wanted to try," he said. "It was through the Royal Air Force that I managed to find my way into the sport."
That came in 2004 when Humphries was stationed at RAF Brize Norton and met members of the British Bobsleigh Association. They spotted his potential straight away and before long he was attending the International Training School in Austria.
His whirlwind rise through the ranks continued when Britain's No 1 driver Johnston, recruited him as part of the country's No 1 team.
He rapidly found his feet before winning a gold medal in the four-man discipline and competing on the World Cup circuit.
"It was at the end of that season when I returned to work that I realised I wanted to commit 100 per cent to bobsleigh and my Olympic dream, so I began a rigorous training routine while still working my 12-hour shifts at Brize Norton."
Now Humphries has switched to the Innsworth base in Gloucestershire, where he works as an avionics technician, to be closer to Bath University which has the only bobsleigh push start facility in the UK. That, though, is only part of Humphries' training regime.
"As well as working on the push facility, my programme is basically made up of weightlifting, squat exercises and lots of short track work. We have also been training out in Calgary, Canada, where I spent a lot of time on the ice and in a sled, which I don't get the chance to do at home. I also have to watch what I eat. My diet revolves around things like eggs, pasta, fruit, vegetables, lean meat and plenty of water, though I do give myself the occasional treat of chocolate and ice cream."
Despite Humphries' rapid rise, it hasn't all been plain sleighing for the man known to his friends as "Bam Bam".
"I broke my foot in November 2004, then, after winning the two-man event and coming runner-up in the four-man race, I broke my other foot before the World Championships began."
But he is now over both injuries and is grateful to the RAF for their support, while he is also part of the Sports Council of Wales' Elite Cymru scheme.
"Training full-time is massively important to compete at the top level," he said. "Hopefully I can reward everyone by standing on the podium in Turin."
During a typical 60-second run, speeds of more than 80 miles per hour are reached and crews are subjected to over four times the force of gravity.
"The Olympics would be the pinnacle of my career - it's everything to represent your country at the Olympics," the 6ft 5in, 17 stone Humphries said.
Humphries, who studied Sports Science at University College Newport, realises how important the "real" training is.
"The winter training in Calgary is a huge help," he said. "I spend a lot of time on ice and in a sled which I don't really get the opportunity to do at home."
|