Bobsledder's crowdfunding appeal for Olympic sled

John Stanbridge, centre, has launched a campaign to fund a new four-man sled ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics

A bobsledder from Shropshire is appealing to raise £40,000 for a new sled ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

John Stanbridge, an aircraft engineer based at RAF Cosford, has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of representing Team GB at the games in Italy.

Donations would go towards a "world class" four-man sled, as his team's current sled is more than 10 years old.

After they finished competing, Mr Stanbridge planned to sell the sled and donate money to a charity, he added.

The 34-year-old, who formed Bob Team Stanbridge in 2020, said his team was "completely unfunded" by UK Sport, meaning it fell to the athletes to fund their involvement or find a way to compete.

"The biggest shortfall we have is on our equipment at the moment," he explained.

"As an unfunded team, we've got to look at ways that we can generate funding through sponsorship or crowdfunding to find a way to make sure that we can compete."

John Stanbridge said the "biggest shortfall" was the team's current bobsleigh equipment

A number of bobsledders have previously crowdfunded their participation in the Winter Olympics after their funding was withdrawn.

Mr Stanbridge said his team's last season was "phenomenal," having made their first top six results in the European cup and finishing within the top 10 in "pretty much every race."

He said he had personally invested about £40,000-£50,000 of his own money into the sport over the last few years and had previously purchased a van and financed a two-man sled.

"Now it's the four-man [sled] we need to concentrate on, to make sure we can compete, we can be viable," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"Because I think with the right crew, with the right stuff behind us, we've got real potential."