Defiant Minichiello insists gold is still in reach

From James Toney, Sportsbeat, in Whistler

 BRITISH bobsleigh world champion Nicola Minichiello insists she has not given up hope of capturing Olympic gold in Vancouver, despite languishing in tenth place at the halfway stage.

WORK TO DO: World champions Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke are just tenth after the first two runs in Vancouver but believe all is not lost (Getty Images)

Minichiello and brakewoman Gillian Cooke collected a combined time of 1:47.58 minutes after finishing tenth and 12th in their first and second runs respectively and trail leaders Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse of Canada by 1.38 seconds.

It's a far cry from the form Minichiello and Cooke showed last year in Lake Placid where they romped to the World Championship title before ending the season in fourth in the overall World Cup rankings.

Preparations have been far from ideal with Minichiello suffering an eye injury and undergoing two operations in December but she remains adamant the fat lady has not sung in Whistler just yet.

"Until we cross the finish line after the fourth run we are still shooting for the gold medal. It's everything we have worked for and believed in," she said.

"Overall I'm driving most of the track really well I just keep making a mistake on the first corner and it's killing our speed.

I'm a bit frustrated with that but the rest of the track I'm really pleased with.

"Starts have been good but we need build on it now and build on those and get closer to the leaders.

"On a track like this anything is possible. Let's see who is still surviving at the end of the four runs.

"Being world champions gives us the confidence to know that we can beat the best in the world.

"We'll go back to analyse it and do everything we can to make sure we nail it."

Meanwhile, Great Britain's second sled of Paula Walker and Kelly Thomas are in 11th, just 0.19 behind their compatriots, having produced the ninth fastest time of the second run.

"It's really unexpected," said Walker, who was recovered from a nasty spill in training. "My second run didn't seem that great from the way that I drove, it was only at the bottom when I realised how quick it was.

"We needed to up our game after the first run and if we can keep improving then we could squeeze into the top ten and that would be a fantastic result for us.

"I didn't think about the crash, it wasn't on my mind but it just reminded me that the bobsleigh track can bite you at any time.

"I've only been driving two and a half years and to get into the top ten would have been a big ambition and it's well within our reach now - we just need to come out and do it again.

"It's always good to have a friendly rivalry with our team-mates. If I can get in front of Nicola I would be over the moon."

 

AS IT HAPPENS: Follow day 12 of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver