Craig Thompson: Briton has 'nothing to prove' in skeleton at World Championships
- Published
Craig Thompson missed out on a World Championship medal in skeleton by fractions of a second in 2023
Great Britain's Craig Thompson says he has "nothing to prove" at this year's World Championships after missing out on a medal in the skeleton by fractions of a second in 2023.
Thompson finished fourth in last year's event and lost out on bronze by one hundredth of a second.
He begins competing in this year's heats in Winterberg, Germany on Friday.
"I was absolutely heartbroken to miss out on a medal by just one hundredth of a second," Thompson said.
"It's such an awful feeling to have. But I don't feel as though I have anything to prove.
"I believe in my own performance and the coaching staff around me and team around me and if everything comes together and I can slide as well as I can then I don't see why I can't be bringing home a medal this year. It's well within my reach.
"Hopefully I'll be on the right side of the clock this year."
Thompson, from Swindon, went on to win bronze in the mixed skeleton last January alongside Brogan Crawley for his first World Championship medal.
This season, the 31-year-old has finished fourth and fifth in two World Cups, alongside another three top 10s.
"The season so far has been quite up and down. I've had some fair results, I've had some pretty rubbish results. Overall can't complain," he told BBC Radio Wiltshire.
Thompson is ranked ninth in the world and said he has been working with a sport psychologist which has had positive impacts on his performance ahead of the Winter Olympics in 2026.
"How I approach race days and not putting as much pressure on myself as I normally do and treating each race as a fast training session, that sort of thing really helps," Thompson said.
"It was a massive turning point after going through that process I found my own performance kicked on.
"Also it helped having a really good solid team around me - the three boys that are on World Championships this year they're sliding really well and we work really well together as a group.
"Having that plus the coaching and now we've got some good equipment beneath us, it all seems to be coming together for the right point for the Olympics in two years time."