Irish bobsleigh hope looks to make it third time lucky in Vancouver

IRELAND'S Aoife Hoey is hoping to make it third time lucky at next year's Winter Olympics.

AIMING HIGH: Irish bobsleigh driver Aoife Hoey, centre, with the team-mates she hopes will help her fulfill an Olympic ambition in Vancouver (Olympic Council of Ireland)

The former triple jumper turned bobsleigh driver narrowly failed in her qualification bid for Salt Lake City and Turin but insists she's on course for Vancouver - now less than two months away.

The 26-year old, who has been supported by a scholarship funded by the International Olympic Committee, has been part of the Irish team for eight years, starting as a brakewoman and progressing to driver.

And she isn't the first to step off the track and onto the ice,  Gillian Cooke - who competed for Scotland at long jump at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, sits right behind British world champion Nicola Minichiello.

"I first tried out for the team when I was 16 but they said I was too young," said Hoey.

"As a triple jumper I knew I had the right physical attributes for bobsleigh and my sister was also part of the Irish team.

"I started as a brakewoman but I've been the driver for six years."

Hoey combines her bobsleigh with a full-time job at Athletics Ireland.  Her Olympic Solidarity funding, a scheme funded by broadcasting revenue and designed to assist aspiring athletes with the greatest need, helps funds her travel during the five-month season.

"I still have to work for a living but my employers are very understanding and allow me my leave around competition time," adds Hoey.

"I fit my gym-based training around work in the office.  The Olympic Solidarity support is vital, helping the team to travel and compete around the world.

"Just flying the bob to competitions and training is very expensive and when you consider our nearest track is in Austria, there is a lot of time and money spent traveling."

Hoey hopes to be joined in Vancouver by one of two potential brakewoman, Claire Bergin and Leona Bryne, who both combine competition with studies and are working hard to make their respective cases.

Ireland are currently placed 30th in the world in the FIBT rankings but this season Hoey has secured two top ten finishes in the second tier European Cup series, while she placed 22nd at last week's World Cup event in Winterberg.