Scot in the running for Aussie bobsleigh

WITH her training attire consisting of a bikini and a liberal coating of sun-tan lotion, Gemma Ryde appears an unlikely contender for Winter Olympics success.

• From left, new recruits Gemma Ryde and Sascha Lahey with Astrid Loch-Wilkinson in competition mode and, below, Loch-Wilkinson in action. Photograph: Ric Frearson

But after injury robbed the Scottish sprinter of her dream of winning gold on sport's grandest stage, she has been handed a second, improbable shot at glory.

In what she describes as a "real-life Cool Runnings," Ryde has become the newest member of the Australian women's bobsleigh team. The 1993 comedy film told the story of the first Jamaican bobsleigh team.

Based on the sun-kissed Queensland coast, where temperatures can reach as high as 43.2C, 27-year-old Ryde said she thought someone was playing a joke when she was asked to join the squad. Now, though, her sights are set on a podium place.

Ryde, from Dollar, Clackmannanshire, took up sprinting at 13. She achieved modest success representing Scotland, winning two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh a decade ago. However, a succession of leg injuries plagued her progress, and she was soon forced to give up hope of athletics success.

Having gained a degree in sport science from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Ryde decided to further her education and enjoy a "change of scenery" by studying for a doctorate at the University of Queensland.

Despite her injuries, she has remained a keen athlete, and was powerlifting in her local gym in Brisbane earlier this year when someone struck up a conversation. She recalled: "This guy started talking to me about my physique, I thought I was being chatted up."

The admirer turned out to be a member of the Australian men's bobsleigh team. Aware that his female counterparts were launching a recruitment drive, he saw potential.

Ryde added: "I just told him, 'Don't be crazy'. I never even knew Australia competed in the bobsleigh, which is a winter sport, after all. But I'm a sports crazy person - I row and I play rugby - and I thought I'd find out more."

The result was a successful trial, and now, Ryde is part of the three-strong Avante IT Australian women's bobsleigh team. Along with fellow brakewoman and new recruit, Sascha Lahey, and Astrid Loch-Wilkinson, the pilot and captain, she is preparing for the opening of the European season this autumn.

It is a training regime quite unlike any other. Two months of the year are spent in Germany, but for the long off-season, the team, founded in 2002, must make do without snow or ice in the subtropical climate of Brisbane, Yet, says Ryde, they are able to adapt.

"There are no bobsleigh tracks in Australia, so we train on an athletics track, wearing what look like bikinis, and with sunscreen to protect us," she explained."The bobsleigh is on wheels, but we wear spikes as you would on ice.

"We've been practising on the technique for the push off, where we get the bobsleigh up to speed, and I wouldn't say we're at a disadvantage because we don't have ice. It's the same sprint and weight training. It's tough work, but I don't mind getting bashed around a bit."

Family and friends in Dollar were surprised by her news. She said: "There were the usual Cool Runnings jokes," she laughs. "Some of them were pointing out that I'd lived in Scotland all my life yet I'd never once went skiing."

Loch-Wilkinson, whose former team finished in 19th place at this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, believes Ryde is a real asset.

She said: "Gemma is a great girl. She is talented athletically, but most of all has a great sense of humour, is very committed, and will be a solid and reliable team member.

"The Aussies will think it's great to have Gemma on the team. We always love to claim anyone who wants to be called an Aussie... she will certainly give us some Celtic grit."

Such qualities will prove vital if the team to meet its goal of success at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and breaking into the world top ten. For her part, Ryde is determined to make up for the loss of her sprinting career.

She said: "When I was younger I wanted to go to the Summer Olympics, but it wasn't to be. Now I have a new goal with the bobsleigh team."

Should she make the Olympic team, Ryde would have to become an Australian resident. She will make that decision if, and when, it arrives, but says it would throw up a welcome dilemma. "By the time 2014 comes around, I'll be in my early thirties, so it'll probably be my last chance, but I'm determined to give it my best."