Mica Moore: Welsh athlete targets summer and winter Olympic success

Mica Moore (left) has a 100m personal best of 11.65 seconds and 23.92 seconds in the 200m

Just over a year ago, if you had asked Mica Moore about bobsleigh, the 100m sprinter would have talked about the 1993 Disney movie Cool Runnings.

A representative in the Wales squad at the Commonwealth Games, 22-year-old Moore, who runs for Birchfield Harriers and Cardiff Met University, only had eyes for medals earned on the track.

Fast forward to 2016 and Moore is now a woman on a mission, to represent Wales at athletics and Team GB at the Winter Olympics. Bobsleigh now means a whole lot more to her than just a plotline from a well-loved Disney movie.

She is currently in New York, preparing for the latest leg of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup as part of her new role as a brake-woman in the women's GB bobsleigh team.

She is not ready to give up on her athletic dreams either, as the Newport athlete aims to conquer both the summer and winter disciplines.

Feel the rhythm, feel the ride

Cool Runnings, the 1993 Disney movie about the Jamaican bobsleigh team was a favourite of Mica Moore's

Moore is not entirely sure how or why she decided to try out winter sports, but Cool Runnings definitely played a part.

"It is quite strange. Everyone asks, 'how did you get into bobsleigh?' And to be honest, I am not really sure. But I am enjoying it anyway," she told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"The basis of my bobsleigh knowledge was like everyone else's, Cool Runnings.

"Everyone instantly thinks of that film and I've had so many people asking me if I have a lucky egg, or whether I kiss my lucky egg.

"That is all I heard before I started and that was all I knew of bobsleigh.

"One of the boys who is on the bobsleigh team, Judah [Simpson], used to do athletics alongside me and we trained in the summer together.

"I saw how well the bobsleigh team were doing, they had been doing exceptionally well recently and I had a chat with him and said 'how do I get involved with this?'

"I thought it was something I would enjoy. I am really grateful he recommended it, it is really good fun."

Mica and her team-mates prepare to descend in Canada

A 'fun' sport

Moore says her initial fears of participating in bobsleigh, where speeds can reach 125 miles per hour, were quickly extinguished once she got a taste for the event.

"I have always been someone who likes to find thrills and conquer my fears and things like that," she said.

"When you are stood at the top of the track you can't see the finish. So it is not too bad, I get in and shut my eyes until it is time for me to brake.

"It is really fun, that is the main thing. The one word I would use to describe bobsleighing is 'fun'."

Moore narrowly missed out on the individual 100m and 200m qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games, but did represent Wales in the 100m relay

Double aim for 2018

Moore is determined not to pick between her winter and summer sports, insisting her future will include success in both.

"I wouldn't and I won't prioritise one sport over the other. I think I can do both and that is definitely my plan," she added.

"If anything, I think the bobsleigh will aid my athletics. Some of the other people in the team, like Joel [Fearon], have had such a successful season on the track as well.

"I think it only helps and assists the athletics and visa-versa. Bobsleigh is such a powerful sport, you need that power, especially at the start and I think I bring that from the athletics side.

"Next year what I will be trying to do is qualify for the Commonwealth Games.

"The hope is certainly that 2018 will be a really busy year, because it is the Commonwealth Games and the Winter Olympics as well.

"I think I am pretty good with time management and I hope to be able to do both.

"If all goes to plan, that is what will happen.

"The cherry on top would be to win a medal in both, but I know I need to train really hard just to achieve those goals and get to the two events."