Switching sports is more common than most people realise, as specific types of training have an overlap between winter and summer sports.

For example, the connection between Gymnastics, Diving and aerial skiing is well known, but how about for sliding sports?

Hayden Smith is the CEO of Bobsleigh & Skeleton Australia and he’s identified a handful of sports that can prepare athletes for the rigors of Skeleton, Bobsleigh or Luge.

“We're looking in our sliding sports primarily for power and speed,” Smith said, who competed in the men’s four-man bobsleigh for Australia at PyeongChang 2018.

“Athletics is a key one. There are athletes from certain divisions in rugby we look at, as in our sports you can also get a few bumps and bruises.

“The other factor is how much do they really want to throw everything at it. We can get a good gauge of an athlete's commitment pretty early on.”

It's not a disadvantage to enter the sport of Bobsleigh as an adult, with it being commonplace to see someone’s Bobsleigh journey starting around 24 years of age.

While athletes as young as 13 are allowed to compete in youth events, including the Youth Olympics.

The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and Australian Institute of Sport hold talent ID camps and programs every year. However little can be done to prepare an athlete for the drastic change in elements and an extensive international travel schedule, which means mature athletes can be better equipped mentally and physically to deal with the challenges.

“A lot of times transitioning them over into a new sport is easier than building an athlete from the grassroots up.

“I think we probably don't give enough credit to the amount of skill acquisition older athletes can acquire in a short period of time.

“When you look at how long it takes to develop a mature athlete through a standard pathway of skill acquisition, you can fast track an older athlete through it all because they've got all sorts of other tools.

“They're experienced enough to know their body and know what works for them. We've got these pathway athletes already with a good track record. That's exciting and something that should be tapped into more.”

Two Australian summer Olympians have successfully switched to become winter Olympians.

Paul Narracott, Jackie’s uncle, was the first Aussie to do it. He made an Olympic debut as a track and field sprinter at Los Angeles 1984 and then competed in the two-man bobsleigh at Albertville 1992 with Glenn Turner.

Eight years later Jana Pittman took to the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay at Sydney 2000. She backed up in the hurdles at Athens 2004 and ended her Olympic career in the two-woman bobsleigh at Sochi 2014.

With the triumphs of Australian athletes in sliding sports at Beijing 2022, seeing is believing for the next generation of athletes wanting sliding success of their own.

“Hopefully we are going to get an influx of new athletes who are really interested. This success has paved the way for the next crop.

“I think we just need to find the right athletes at the right time. It takes a long time to get good, Jackie's been in the program for 10 years.

“The sliding transition program through history has been incredible and Australia's done a great job.

“We need to start working with athletes we can be patient with and develop over a long period of time.”

Recruitment camps for sliding sports are held in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Virtual camps are also available.

Jeff Dickinson-Fox