Teams have been announced and Team GB get kitted out ahead of the Olympic Winter Games
In the outskirts of Stockport, Manchester, sits the adidas UK Headquarters. Impressive from the outset, the venue is a showcase of the innovation and style of the iconic brand; the perfect place to host the final preparations for Team GB on their journey to the Olympic Winter Games.
Four days at the end of January saw the building transformed into a Team GB hub, ready to welcome athletes ahead of PyeongChang 2018. A staple part of the Olympic calendar, athletes come together for a unique experience of the Team GB Kitting Out.
Athletes receive a briefing before taking the designated route through the experience, alongside their dedicated personal shopper. The first stop is formal wear with Team GB Official Suppliers Simon Jersey. These stunning pieces have been designed especially for PyeongChang 2018 and feature personal touches such as embroidery on the dress scarfs.
Next stop, the training and leisure wear, including the eye catching opening ceremony uniform. Athletes work with their personal shopper to find the perfect fit, before signing their name on the Team GB board as a memory of the experience. After this, it’s footwear. Athletes receive three pieces of footwear; walking boots, trainers, and flip flops for use indoors to comply with Korean traditions.
Before getting to the competition wear, it’s a quick stop to try their luck on the indoor curling rink, sponsored by Bridgestone Tyres, which certainly brings out the athletes’ competitive side. Competition wear was next, with striking kit for each sport on display. Athletes found their perfect fit, before having photos taken, including one inside a giant action figure box!
With all kits chosen and the personal shoppers having placed their orders of up to 70 items of kit, behind the scenes Team GB representatives collated each individual athletes’ order ready for them to collect later in the day. Whilst this happened, athletes attended press duties and fun challenges such as “PyeongChang Slang” and “Steep and Chill”.
To finish the experience, athletes headed to the checkouts, quite literally, designed by Team GB partners Aldi. An iPad was set up with athlete details, for them to check their shopping list and confirm that all items were correct as they had ordered. Waiting for them were Team GB bags filled with all of their kit, ready for them to take as they leave for the next stage on their path to PyeongChang.
This exciting and personalised experience isn’t open to the general public, and is a real chance for Team GB athletes selected to represent their country to come together and begin their journey to the Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.
Team GB Live took two fans to the heart of the action, for their very own Team GB Kitting Out experience alongside their heroes. All fans that purchased tickets to PyeongChang 2018 through Team GB Live, the Official Ticket and Travel Package Provider for Team GB, were entered into a competition to win two places at the Kitting Out experience. Our winning pair joined the Bobsleigh Team, figure skaters, and members of the Ski & Snowboard Team in going through the journey of Team GB Kitting Out. They saw first-hand the excitement and preparation that goes into each Games, and from talking to athletes got an insight into each individual journey and the challenges they faced in reaching their Olympic dreams.
The Team GB Kitting Out experience comes just as the final teams are being announced. The Curling, Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating selections were announced earlier in the season, but the end of January saw the remaining sports reveal their athletes.
After a setback earlier in the season having their funding cut, the female Bobsleigh Team have bounced back with support from a crowd funding page. Pilot Mica McNeil and Brakewoman Mica Moore have qualified for PyeongChang 2018, with team mate Montell Douglas travelling as a reserve. Making up the male Bobsleigh team are pilots Lamin Deen and Brad Hall, Brakemen Greg Cackett plus Joel Fearon, Nick Gleeson, Andrew Mathews, Toby Olubi and Ben Simons, with Sam Blanchet travelling as a reserve.
Mica McNeil has showed sheer determination in getting to the Games in PyeongChang, and said of her selection “I am so proud to represent Team GB at PyeongChang 2018. It’s a dream come true to compete at an Olympic Games.
“Four months ago my career was uncertain and to be selected today is very emotional but incredible and I’m so excited.”
Making the team again after competing at Sochi 2014, Lamin Deen commented “I’m overwhelmed. It hasn’t sunk in. You have to remind yourself – I’m going to an Olympic Games again.”
Five Sochi 2014 medallists are returning for PyeongChang 2018 and teams have been confirmed across the sports this week, with Luge, Snowboarding, Biathalon, and Skiing also revealing their squads going for gold in the biggest team yet for Team GB at an Olympic Winter Games. Lizzy Yarnold will be looking to retain her Gold medal in the Skeleton, and will be competing alongside team mates Laura Deas, Dominic Parsons and Jerry Rice. One-to-watch Katie Ormerod is making her Olympic debut in Snowboard.
Mike Hay, Team GB Chef de Mission, said: “With the team fully selected for PyeongChang 2018, I’m delighted to welcome all 59 athletes to Team GB. It’s a great milestone in our preparations for the Games to know our complete delegation travelling out to South Korea and the countdown is now firmly on for the Opening Ceremony on 9th February.
“Not only is this the largest team we’ve ever taken to a Winter Olympics but I feel it is also the most talented. Given results over the last two years at elite level, there is potential for success across a broader range of sports than ever before and I’m confident that with this group of athletes we can make history once again.”
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Team GB at PyeongChang 2018
Alpine Skiing: 4 Athletes
Alex Tilley, age 24, from Torphins, Scotland
Charlie Guest, 24, from Perth, Scotland
Dave Ryding, 31, from Chorley, Lancashire
Laurie Taylor, 21, from Basingstoke, Hampshire
Biathlon: 1 Athlete
Amanda Lightfoot, 30, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear
Bobsleigh: 10 Athletes
Andrew Matthews, 33, from Slough, Berkshire
Ben Simons, 31, from Broseley, Shropshire
Brad Hall, 27, from Crawley, Surrey
Greg Cackett, 28, from Betchworth, Surrey
Joel Fearon, 29, from Loughborough, Leicestershire
Lamin Deen, 36, from Manchester
Mica McNeil, 24, from Consett, Co Durham
Mica Moore, 25, from Cardiff, Wales
Nick Gleeson, 21, from Epsom, Surrey
Toby Olubi, 30, from London
Cross-Country Skiing: 4 Athletes
Andrew Musgrave, 27, from Oyne, Scotland
Andrew Young, 25, from Huntly, Scotland
Annika Taylor, 24, from Lillehammer, Norway
Callum Smith, 25, from Inverurie, Scotland
Curling: 10 Athletes
Anna Sloan, 26, from Dumfries, Scotland
Cammy Smith, 24, from Perth, Scotland
Eve Muirhead, 27, from Perth, Scotland
Glen Muirhead, 27, from Perth, Scotland
Kelly Schafer, 36, from Dundee, Scotland
Kyle Smith, 26, from Perth, Scotland
Kyle Waddell, 23, from Bellshill, Scotland
Lauren Gray, 26, Glasgow, Scotland
Thomas Muirhead, 22, from Perth, Scotland
Vicki Adams, 28, from Edinburgh, Scotland
Figure Skating: 2 Athletes
Nick Buckland, 28, from Nottingham
Penny Coomes, 28, from Maidenhead, Kent
Freestyle Skiing: 11 Athletes
Alexander Glavatsky-Yeadon, 23, from Hong Kong
Emily Sarsfield, 34, from Durham
Izzy Atkin, 19, from Park City, USA
James Woods, 26, from Sheffield, Yorkshire
Katie Summerhayes, 22, from Sheffield, Yorkshire
Lloyd Wallace, 22, from Shaftesbury, Wiltshire
Molly Summerhayes, 20, from Sheffield, Yorkshire
Murray Buchan, 26, from Edinburgh, Scotland
Peter Speight, 25, from Sheffield, Yorkshire
Rowan Cheshire, 22, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Tyler Harding, 21, from Halifax, Yorkshire
Luge: 2 Athletes
Adam Rosen, 33, from New Rochelle, New York
Rupert Staudinger, 20, from Schoenau Am Koenigssee, Germany
Short Track Speed Skating: 5 Athletes
Charlotte Gilmartin, 27, from Redditch, Worcestershire
Elise Christie, 27, from Livingston, Scotland
Farrell Treacy, 22, from Henley-In-Arden, Warwickshire
Josh Cheetham, 25, from Nottingham
Kathryn Thomson, 21, from Kilmarnock, Scotland
Skeleton: 4 Athletes
Dominic Parsons, 30, from London
Jerry Rice, 27, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire
Laura Deas, 29, from Wrexham, Wales
Lizzy Yarnold, 29, from Maidstone, Kent
Snowboarding: 6 Athletes
Aimee Fuller, 26, from Bangor, Northern Ireland
Billy Morgan, 28, from Southampton, Hampshire
Jamie Nicholls, 24, from Queensbury, Yorkshire
Katie Ormerod, 20, from Brighouse, Yorkshire
Rowan Coultas, 20, from Padstow, Cornwall
Zoe Gillings-Brier, 32, from Douglas, Isle of Man