Arran Gulliver: GB bobsleigh team have 'belief' after World Cup win
- Published
Gulliver said his background as a sprinter has helped him adapt quickly to bobsleigh
New bobsleigh recruit Arran Gulliver said there is a "real sense of belief" in Great Britain's four-man team after they won World Cup gold last weekend.
The quartet, led by Brad Hall, finished in first place in Lake Placid for the first time.
Gulliver, 25, only joined the programme in June and was previously a complete novice in the sport.
"It's the best Christmas present I could have asked for really," he told BBC Sport.
"We go into every single race thinking we can win because we know we've got the talent. But to actually get that done it takes the pressure off a little bit.
"We're looking now at tracks that we're going to be going to after Christmas thinking, 'we can definitely win a gold there'.
"There's a real sense of belief between the four of us and our coach that we can keep picking up first places as we go through the season."
Gulliver had spent 18 months competing in athletics, with the 100m sprint his favoured event, but he was away in Tenerife in the spring when a friend saw an advert that the bobsleigh and skeleton programme was recruiting.
He completed a trial in June and from there it snowballed. Soon Gulliver was training at the push-start track at the team's University of Bath base alongside Hall, Taylor Lawrence and Greg Cackett.
"After the initial trials Brad asked me to come and train with his team so I was down there twice a week with them. They were trying to teach me everything I needed to know before the season," he said.
Cackett, Lawrence, Gulliver and Hall (l-r) have been successful so far this season
Learning from the best
Gulliver had a natural talent and pushed one of the fastest times in his first attempt on the bobsleigh.
Within weeks he was taken to Whistler, Canada, for his first run down a track.
"It happens to be the fastest track in the world and some of the biggest g-force pressures through the corners, so I really got the full experience," Gulliver said.
By November he was lining up for his first competition at the North American Cup, where the team took home gold. And at their first World Cup outing in Whistler, they came away with silver.
"Having three guys that have got loads of experience between them, going to Olympics, just being able to talk to them, take their knowledge and all their experience on board, listen to them and learn that way made it so much easier.
"We all trust each other so we know we're all going to do the right things."
Top-end speed
Gulliver's experience and skillset as a sprinter has helped him transition from the athletics track to the bobsleigh track.
"Where I excel really well is that top-end speed phase, when the sled was moving really fast I could keep up with it and keep pushing for longer," he added.
"It definitely helps when you've got four big guys that are shifting a sled as fast as they can, you need to have that top-end speed to keep adding.
"That's why sprinters tend to get on really well with bobsleigh, as long as they've got the size and the strength as well, to help them, it works."
Gulliver only joined the bobsleigh programme this summer but has already won multiple medals
After a short break at home near Kidderminster for Christmas, Gulliver and the team are straight back into competition at the World Cup rounds in Winterberg and Altenberg, Germany, before the World Championships in St Moritz begin on 26 January.
"If we can medal there it's just going to be brilliant, absolutely great for the programme," Gulliver continued.
"We might be able to get a bit more funding for the programme as well and ultimately that's the main aim."
Beyond that, after just a few months into the sport, Gulliver is already dreaming of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
"I feel like I'm in the best position I possibly could be," he said.
"I know it's all happened so fast but the feedback I'm getting from everybody else and what I know about myself and how hard I can work, I definitely think I can get there."