Amy is part of the British bob skeleton team. Bob skeleton,
which evolved from the Cresta Run, is head-first tobogganing down a bobsleigh
track. Individual 'sliders' do a sprint start and then hurtle down the
ice track at speeds of up to 80 mph. The average run has a length of 1500
m and 15 corners, some of which produce so much G force that it is almost
impossible to keep from hitting the ice with your helmet.
The sport is controlled by the Fédération Internationale
de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) and is practised by athletes from
18 nations on bob runs in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, France,
Norway, Japan, Canada and the USA. It takes about 5 years of intensive
training to get to World Class standard.
Women's skeleton featured in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 2002, when Britain won the
bronze medal, and more recently in the 2006 Turin Olympics, achieving the silver medal.