Leon Greenwood on Bobsleigh World Cup podium hopes, belief, training and caffeine
Leon Greenwood’s bobsleigh season is officially underway.
The Newbury Athletics Club sprint coach flew out to Germany earlier this month, for the first event of the 2024/25 Bobsleigh World Cup.
He was part of Britain’s four-man team, alongside Brad Hall, Taylor Lawrence and Greg Cackett, who finished fifth in Altenberg, near the Czech border.
“I felt great physically, absolutely great,” he reflected.
“I was ready, first race of the season, it's what we’ve been building towards through the summer.
“We’d put all our eggs in one basket, thinking ‘let's give it our all and show the world where we’re at’.
“We were testing a new sled in training.
“It wasn’t really showing any potential, but we tried it in a race.
“But it showed us that it wasn’t quick, so we could have missed out on a podium spot.
“We’ll go back to the original now.”
The four-man race had to be held in just one run, with proceedings delayed significantly and a second run cancelled for all teams.
A crash by the Chinese sled thankfully led to no injuries, but caused significant disruption to the the other teams, not least Greenwood’s.
“We’d warmed up ready to go,” he recalled.
“The adrenaline was pumping, helmets on, and ready to go.
“Then they tell us we have to wait an hour and a half!
“I’ve just had all this caffeine, I’m sweating, and then we’re told to wait.
“I sat down and tried to calm myself, reset my mind again.
“Then we had to do the whole thing again.
“I had so much caffeine to keep myself hyped up that I didn’t sleep until 4am!
Greenwood believes that in normal circumstances, his team could have challenged for the podium places, this time locked out by German and Austrian entries.
“I honestly believe that in the next few races we’ll be on that podium,” he said.
“We came fifth despite starting quite late, and if you start off late it’s not the best.
“Usually you have the second run where you’re with everyone, but we didn’t have that opportunity.
“We’ve got the physical attributes, but the equipment in bobsleigh is one of the key things.
“The Germans are spending millions of pounds a year and we’ve got thousands.
“So we’re doing quite well.
“You have to believe first.
“If you don’t believe you’re going to be the best, you never will be.
“We believe. We want a medal at the Olympic Games.”
Greenwood’s season has only just begun, with World Cup events in Winterberg, St. Moritz, Innsbruck and Lillehammer all to come, before the World Championships in Lake Placid, USA.
“The big event is the World Championships in March,” he explained.
“We have to go through the World Cup races to see what the fastest British crew is, we swap in and out.
“So we’re always competing within the team, so that keeps you on edge.
“Even though we’re best mates, there’s no time to relax.
“That can be tough sometimes, but it’s just sport.
“We don’t see it as personal, it's friendly competition.”
With the season underway, Greenwood has had to adapt his training to meet the demands of such a unique schedule.
“During competition time you’re not really lifting heavy weights,” he said.
“You’re not hammering yourself in the gym, you’re not going to the sprint track 24/7.
“You just have to manage it, you taper it for the race.
“Over Christmas I’ve gone into a strength block, where I do lift heavy and sprint fast.
“But as soon as we’re back in the season we’re moving weights faster and making the quality of the runs better.”