Though the training only consisted of four total runs, each one was integral to the teams’ efforts to compete with the best in the world.
Whenever a pilot goes to a new track it is an incredibly high-pressure time for them. They need to learn each corner intricately, and know exactly how they are going to steer every meter of the mile-long track… without ever having seen it before. This process begins with the basics of learning which way the corners go, their length, and the order. From there the pilots will then develop their knowledge and repeat the track numerous times in their mind. As every competitor at the Olympics is extremely experienced, there is a base level of knowledge that aids the process. However, it remains a daunting prospect.
Once the pilot has a basic understanding of the track, they will do a “track walk”, walking inside the track and getting to see the ice up close and get feel for how it might behave, and the impact it will have on the sled. T&T pilot Axel Brown was accompanied by his extremely experienced coach Lee Johnston who has competed in three Olympic Games as an athlete and coached at a further three. Together they were able to come up with a game plan for tacking the first two days of training.
When time allows, usually a pilot will sit in the sled and be pushed off from the top, or even start from lower down in the track to see the corners before going full speed. But this is the Olympic Games. So, the pairing of Axel Brown and Andre Marcano pushed the sled off full tilt for their first run.
But, not only was this Axel’s first attempt at the track, it was also Andres first ever ride in a bobsleigh! The unlikely event of an athlete never having done the sport he’s at an Olympic Games for shows just how extreme the challenges this team has faced were.
However, apart from a brief incident when braking, the four runs over two days went off without incident. Andre managed to overcome the fears that everyone has after their first runs, and Axel was able to get to grips with the new challenges this track in particular presents.
With Shakeel John arriving just one day before the ceremony took place, the team was finally in full form ready to take to the biggest stage on earth. Led by flag bearer Andre, the team of Axel Brown, Shakeel John, and team manager Tom Harris walked out Infront of thousands of people in the stadium and hundreds of millions watching on TV in what was the biggest moment of any of their lives. Realising life long dreams, and ending a 20 year absence of Trinidad and Tobago at the winter Olympics.
The team must now wait nearly 10 days before they can touch the ice again. Then begins three more days of training, a day off, and then the race!