GB Bobsleigh recruits Olympic medal-winning coach Scherrer

Dominik Scherrer led the Switzerland team to two Olympic bronze medals at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.

British Bobsleigh has appointed former Swiss team boss Dominik Scherrer as its new head technical coach through to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Scherrer, 46, who led Switzerland to two bronze medals at the 2006 Games in Turin, is hoping to help GB achieve their aim of a podium finish in Russia.

"I really believe Great Britain has the potential to do well," said Scherrer.

"There is work to be done but I am I am looking forward to making it happen."

Scherrer, who has been working as a team consultant since leaving the Swiss set up after the 2010 Vancouver Games, will lead on the technical development of the current British sled design in conjunction with the team's partners UK Sport and McLaren Applied Technologies.

"At the half way point through this Olympic cycle it was right to evaluate and see exactly where we were," GB Bobsleigh performance director Gary Anderson told BBC Sport.

"We have achieved some good results that showed we are on track, but we need to step up to the next level and with Dominik's experience and knowledge we can do that.

Britain last won a Winter Olympics bobsleigh medal in Nagano in 1998 when the four-man team took bronze. However in the 2009 world championships, Britain's women won gold.

Anderson added: "Not only does Dominik bring with him vast bobsleigh knowledge he is also a great performance coach and understands how to get the best from the staff and athletes working with him."

One of those coaches will be former GB pilot Lee Johnston, who after leading Mica McNeil and Jazmin Sawyer to silver at the inaugral Winter Youth Olympic Games in January, will now take responsibility for the junior programmes and look to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The recruitments will come as a welcome boost to the British setup who received a set-back last month after one of their athletes tested positive for a banned substance.

The so-far unnamed bobsleigher, who was provisionally suspended, is expected to find out the result of their personal hearing with UK Anti-Doping, later this month.