Stoke-on-Trent athlete makes Olympic Winter Games debut
By Liana Snape 23rd Feb 2026
An athlete from Stoke-on-Trent made her Olympic Winter Games debut over the weekend.
Ashleigh Nelson competed in the two-woman bobsleigh on Friday (20 February) and Saturday (21 February).
The 35-year-old and pilot Adele Nicoll, finished 15th overall in the two-woman bobsleigh in a combined time of 3:51.82.
"I'm really happy with how it went," Nelson told Team GB.
"After the first few heats, Adele has done a fantastic job to turn things around.
"I'm just so happy and elated to be at my fourth Olympics and first Winter Olympics. I've done it!"
Nelson previously represented Team GB at two Summer Olympics, Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020, as a sprinter, before switching to bobsleigh in the 2024/25 off season.
Team GB explained that this makes her only the second British woman in history to compete in different sports at the Summer and Winter Olympics, following Montell Douglas.
Nelson added: "It was really hard to keep our head in the game but it just goes to show what professionals we both are.
"It's been less than two years since I started bobsleigh and I'm just so overwhelmed that I'm at an Olympic Games.
"I owe it to the team around me, Adele, Kya [Placide] and all the coaching staff. I'm honoured to be a winter Olympian."
In a statement made on social media, a spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "Ashleigh Nelson, our Sporting Hall of Fame star has made her mark on bobsleigh.
"A fantastic achievement to make it to not one but four Olympics - both Winter and Summer - in two different sports."
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