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Skeleton racers set to slay the Dragon

 

Skeleton racers set to slay the Dragon

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AOC
Jackie Narracott

SKELETON: Australian skeleton racers are ready to fly head-first down the Yanqing Sliding Track, known as the ‘Dragon', as they launch their Olympic campaigns.

Debutant Nick Timmings will take to the track Thursday and Friday with two runs on each day, while PyeongChang 2018 Olympian Jackie Narracott starts her competition Friday before two final runs on Saturday.

With limited experience on the track, both athletes are honing their racing lines and sled setups.

“I want everyone watching at home to see me put down a nice smooth, flowy run,” Jackie said.

“If it looks like I’m not doing much at all, but the speed is there, that’s perfect. Hopefully it will be about putting in a whole lot of effort to make it look effortless.

“The track is subtly different from the test event in 2021, so it’s been so important to dial in our setup throughout the training runs this week.”

This includes walking over every part of the track, lying on the ice to analyse every line, curve and angle - then applying that in official timed training runs.

“Fine tuning the setup is a little bit of everything – what runners are going to suit the track, how cold the ice is as that changes how much control we have, and what setup suits my skills the best. We’ve been dialling it in and I think we're at a very good position ahead of our first racing run.”

Jackie heads into her second Olympic campaign in career best form, after winning the last World Cup event in Saint Moritz in January, becoming Australia’s first ever Skeleton World Cup winner.

“I always believed I could compete at this top level, but after Saint Moritz now I know. It’s such a confidence booster and I can’t wait to go out there and show what I can do.”

Nick has had an even steeper learning curve after being unable to attend last year’s test event.

“It’s been exciting getting on the track this week. It’s very different to our normal venues so I'm enjoying the learning curve,” the 31-year-old said.

“I’m really getting a feeling for it, it's a fun track. I'm having to cram a lot of information in small periods of time - rapid learning is one of my strong points though.

“The biggest learning curve is how the corners are reacting. As you're coming into each corner, if you don't enter it correctly you'll get too much height at the end and it will spit you out and you'll hit the wall.  There's not a lot of pressure in the corners compared some of the other tracks so it’s about staying composed and not overreacting.

“I'm still trying to dissect parts of the track and I’m ready to just attack it.”

Both Nick and Jackie are soaking up their Beijing Olympic experience.

“Marching in the Opening Ceremony was unreal, walking under the rings and then hearing ‘Australia’, it was a big heart in your mouth moment,” Nick said.

“I’m just very proud to be part of it and loving this Olympic environment.”

Jackie agreed, saying Alex Ferlazzo’s best ever Australian finish in Luge earlier in the week has fired the Aussie contingent up even more.

“The vibe here is very upbeat and we’re just rolling with everyone's excitement,” Jackie said.

“Alex’s result was phenomenal, seeing another slider put down Australia’s best ever result in that sport was so brilliant. He absolutely smashed it, and I’m sure he’ll be cheering us on when we hit the ice - although probably from a beach in Queensland a lot warmer than here.”

Nick Timmings kickstarts the Aussie skeleton assault on the dragon this Thursday 10 February from 12:30pm AEDT, with Jackie Narracott launching her campaign on Friday 11 February at 12:30pm AEDT.

Watch live on Channel 7 and 7plus.

Dominic Sullivan

#HaveAGo

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WHAT ARE THE KEY ATTRIBUTES

Speed, power and strength

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WHICH SPORTS PROVDE A GOOD PATHWAY?

With such a heavy focus on speed, power and strength, traditionally those with an athletics background make a successfull transition. Take Jackie Narracott (100m & 200m) for example.

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