GUEST BLOG: British bobsleigh's Jackie Gunn

British bobsleigh ace Jackie Gunn, in Vancouver, reports everything is on track for a successful year, with just 12 months until the 2010 Olympics.....

GUNNING FOR GOLD: Jackie Gunn hopes to get her chances alongside Nicola Minichiello in Vancouver (Getty Images)

The Olympic bobsleigh course in Whistler is like nothing else I have experienced and it will certainly separate the women from the girls this time next year.

Nicola Minichiello - our driver - my main British rival Gillian Cooke and myself have just spent the past week racing in our penultimate World Cup event in Vancouver and we like what we see.

During testing we were hitting speeds of 137km and that went up a notch or two when we started racing.

Vancouver is getting a lot of bad press but from a bobsleigh point of view they have really pulled out the stops to put on a show.

As a team we have recorded some of our best results ever this year - we're currently ranked fifth in the world and that's not bad with the Olympics on the horizon and the World Championships just around the corner.

The World Champs in Lake Placid later this month are almost as good as a home race for us. It is quite a difficult track and a lot of drivers are scared of competing there - but I doubt they would admit it.

But we hold an advantage over them because we regularly train there and we know everything about it inside out.

Confidence couldn't be higher at the moment and with an Olympic place and extra UK Sport funding up for grabs, provided we succeed in the US, motivation is at a premium.

Gillian's transformation from long jumper to bobsleigh brakewoman in a matter of months has meant I haven't competed as much as I would have liked.

But having spent two Olympic Games and claimed World Championship silver alongside Nicola I am confident when I get my chance I will take it.

We have a really strong team now, and where as in Turin in 2006, where it was a possibility we might come away with a medal, in Vancouver we expect to win one.

At my first Games in Salt Lake City I was overwhelmed by the whole spectacle but seven years on, everything is falling into place and the nerves are gone.

I could have easily walked away from Nicola and tried to become an Olympic driver myself. For the past couple of years I have given it a go but I can honestly say that I would never be anything other than mediocre at it.

With Nicola and Gillian I have a realistic chance that I can win a medal and that is something I just wouldn't have been able to achieve on my own.

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