Olympians dominate bobsleigh and skeleton at Inter Services in Lillehammer
The 2026 Inter Services Ice Sports Championships have concluded in Lillehammer, Norway, with some of the UK Armed Forces' top Olympic athletes emerging as the big winners.
Held at the venue of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, the competition included military athletes from novice level, who are competing at the Inter Services for the first time, to currently active Olympians who use the event to round off their sliding season.
It was also a good chance for the Olympic athletes, including Team GB's Taylor Lawrence, to get more sliding time on the Lillehammer track, which will host next year's IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships.
The two-man bobsleigh turned out to be one of the closest finishes of the competition – with Army duo Lance Corporal Nick Gleeson and Lance Corporal Tom Harris winning the men's race with a combined time of 3:23.55.
The Royal Navy's Able Rate Shakeel John and Lance Corporal Taylor Lawrence settled for silver, closely followed by RAF pair AS1 (T) Ethan Green and Corporal Alex Cartagena in the bronze medal position.
The RAF also topped the men's team event, beating both the Army and the Navy with a combined time of 10:26.80.
In the women's two-man bobsleigh, the Army also came out on top, with Private Mica Moore and Corporal Kewe King winning gold with a combined time of 3:32.65.
The RAF's Flying Officer Ashya Colvin and Corporal Lucy Robinson took silver, and the Navy's Lieutenant Afton Fitzhenry and Corporal Billi Staite settled for bronze.
The Army also dominated the women's team event with a combined time of 7:12.93.
In the skeleton, the RAF had plenty to smile about after winning both the men's and women's team events.
2026 South African Olympian Flight Lieutenant Nicole Burger won gold in the women's race by +5.08 seconds ahead of the Royal Navy's Rachel White.
2018 Olympian Rhys Thornbury, who formally competed for New Zealand, won the men's skeleton race over Army pair Arran Holmes and Conor Hoad.
In the luge, the RAF narrowly beat the Army in the team event, winning the team title with only 1.46 seconds separating first and second.
The RAF's Flying Officer Luke Farrar won the men's race with a combined time of 1:44.228. The Army's Corporal Scott Pearson lost out on gold by +0.977, and the RAF's Flight Lieutenant Danny Burke won bronze.
In the women's race, the Army's Captain Lucy Wyatt won gold with a combined time of 1:48.205, with the RAF's Corporal Elisabeth Coates and Corporal Alisa Dermidy rounding off the podium places.
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