Bobsleigh bronze for comeback girl Serita (From Dorset Echo)

Bobsleigh bronze for comeback girl Serita

7:00pm Sunday 10th March 2013 in Local Sport By Adam Summers

SERITA Shone’s astonishing return to the bobsleigh track continued with a bronze medal at the British Championships in Austria on Saturday.

The Weymouth ace fractured her spine in two places following a training crash in Germany in October 2011, but after months of rehabilitation she is now back on the ice and proving her potential.

Saturday’s event at Igls was Shone’s first-ever competitive outing and to finish third overall alongside Sian Huxtable was a remarkable achievement.

The 23-year-old, who has only recently switched from brakewoman to driver, told Echosport: “It was great to finally be in a race situation and see how it all works, and to do our two fastest runs since we have been here was just superb. In fact, I am a bit speechless really.

“The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind and such a steep learning curve for me, so to finish with a piece of bronze around my neck is just incredible.

“I would particularly like to thank Sian for all the support she has given me along the way because she really has been fantastic.”

When asked to explain how she felt ahead of the first of her two runs, Shone added: “In the warm-up, I just focused on trying to be as aggressive and as fast as possible as I did not want any emotions to come in.

“I did well-up a little bit before the race but I always knew it was just about doing both runs as well as we possibly could, and like I said, to get the results we did was unbelievable.”

Vicky Olaoye and Sarah Adams won gold ahead of Deni Milner and Jo Nightingale but Shone and Huxtable’s showing should not be underestimated.

Shone’s dream is to one day qualify for a future Winter Olympics and although next year’s event in Russia may come too early, the 2018 Games in South Korea is certainly a possibility.

“The aim now is to have a few weeks off to rest and get over the bumps and bruises before returning to training in April,” said Shone. “We will then look to hit the summer season hard and then get set for more competitive racing in October.”