Winter Olympics 2018: Bradley Hall says GB bobsleigh squad have 'renewed belief'

Bradley Hall's first World Cup medal has given the Great Britain bobsleigh squad "renewed belief" they can compete for Olympic honours next year.

Pilot Hall, who took up the sport in 2012, secured Britain's first World Cup podium in nearly four years with bronze in Park City, USA, last weekend.

Britain's last Olympic bobsleigh medal was bronze at the 1998 Nagano Games.

"I don't want to just be a participator at the Olympics, I want to be a medallist," Hall, 27, told BBC Sport.

"We've always known we have a fast start and have the potential to do very, very well, but finishing with the bronze has really given us more confidence and renewed belief."

Next year's Winter Olympics take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9-25 February.

• Great Britain win bronze for first podium since 2013

• Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup coverage on the BBC

GB have new 'togetherness and unity'

Hall will lead the same 'GBR 1' sled line-up - also including Bruce Tasker, Joel Fearon and Greg Cackett - in the four-man event in Whistler, Canada, on Saturday.

Earlier this year, some athletes alleged they had experienced racism, sexism and discrimination during their time in the sport.

It was also claimed there was a "toxic" atmosphere in the camp, while performance director Gary Anderson - who was not implicated - left the programme for personal reasons.

The team also endured disappointing results at the season-opening World Cup, but Hall says there are now "in a much better place".

"It was a turbulent time over the summer, but the athletes tried to push that to one side and now there's a real togetherness and unity in the squad," he said.

"You just have to look at the results at the weekend - two crews in the top six from GB is unheard of and everyone was celebrating together."

Hall finished eighth on the Olympic track in Pyeongchang at the season-ending World Cup

'Coaches discovered I was utterly useless'

Hall is a former decathlete who, following injuries, was recruited by the British skeleton set-up through a UK Sport talent identification initiative in 2012.

After progressing through several testing stages, he says coaches discovered he was "utterly useless" and could not keep his "head off the ice" during training runs in Lillehammer, Norway.

He found bobsleigh a more suitable sport and was fast-tracked into the 'accelerated driver programme' after narrowly missing out on qualification as a push athlete for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

"It was hard to miss the Games, but soon after they placed the two best all-round athletes - myself and Bruce Tasker - in the driving programme and it progressed pretty quickly," said Hall.

'I was left with a hole in my hand'

Hall's full debut World Cup season in 2016 was hampered by a heavy crash in Whistler - where he will race this weekend. It was so severe he needed several operations.

"I was basically left with a hole in my hand and they had to open me up again after a couple of days as the tendons all ruptured for a second time," he said.

"I still have a lot of scar tissue and it does cause me mobility issues but I've enough movement to do what I need to."

Despite missing much of the 2016-17 campaign Hall returned to finish eighth on the Olympic track in Pyeongchang at the season-ending World Cup.

What made that all the more impressive was he secured the result despite starting from 28th - which meant he had to pilot the sled in poorer conditions than those who set off earlier.

"Prior to last weekend, that was my best result to date and it is really exciting to think what we're capable of," he told BBC Sport.

"I know pretty well how to drive the track and although there are a few tricky corners which are going to catch people out, I'm quite confident.

"Hopefully we can continue the form we showed in Park City, keep the ranking high and by getting more experience racing in the World Cup we should have be able to get a better start, drive and result."

Sochi Olympian Lamin Deen will lead 'GBR 2' in the four-man competition this weekend, while Mica McNeill and Mica Moore will continue their partnership in the women's two-man event on Friday.