GB's No.1 Wyatt targeting European skeleton medal

Going down the academic route and earning a degree in psychology from the University of Swansea, Wyatt's sporting endeavours would have been expected to take him to the NFL rather than the cold ice circuits.

A keen American football player in his youth, playing domestically for Farnham Knights and Swansea University Titans as a wide receiver, the Devon-born slider only really considered giving skeleton a try after witnessing Lizzy Yarnold scoop an historic gold at Sochi in 2014.

Now five years down the line, the 27-year-old is Britain's highest-ranked skeleton in the World Cup standings, currently seventh, and also a national champion - seeing off the challenge of rivals Jack Thomas and Olympian Jerry Rice to take the crown, with PyeongChang bronze medallist Dom Parsons taking a year out to complete his PHD.

It's certainly been no easy route to the top, with plenty of slippery moments to negotiate – few bigger perhaps than missing out on a spot at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

But the former psychology student is first to acknowledge that his mental toughness is the thing that sets him out from the rest.

"I've always said that I want to keep on making small improvements," said Wyatt.

"The progress I've made since starting competing has been great but I've never got carried away and there's no danger of that happening now, either.

"It's nice to see all the training we do paying off, though. We spend six-eight months a year pushing on the push track but you're never 100 per cent sure that everything you're working on will transfer to your start on the ice.

"Everything I've done with my coaches so far seems to be improving. Each year, I'm taking a few hundredths of a second off my start.

"The aim is to eventually be the quickest in the world and, even though that will be a long process, it's great to see that I'm going in the right direction. I just hope that I can keep that up over the next few years."

If results are anything to go by, the future is looking increasingly bright for Britain's skeleton talent, scooping a World Cup career-best eighth-place finish in Altenberg last time out.

Despite seeing last week's European Championships in Koenigssee postponed and rescheduled to Igls in Austria on Friday, Wyatt is confident he can continue to build on his early season form.

"It's been a tough couple of weeks with the race in Koengissee cancelled and training time reduced here in Igls but I'm still in really good spirits given what's happened so far this season," he said.

"To finish eighth was another step forward and another reminder that I'm on the right track.

"Pretty much every race I go to now, I like to think that, if I slide well and hit my key areas, I can get inside the top ten.

"That's the aim again this week. I like Igls as a track but I've got a feeling it's going to be another really tight race. If I can execute on the day again, I'd like to think I can be in that mix."

While a podium finish at the European Championships is the immediate aim for the skeleton latecomer, Wyatt didn't hesitate in looking further ahead to the upcoming World Championships.

"In the short-term, I'm now looking to continue this form through the rest of the season and then, hopefully, on to the World Championships in Whistler in March," he added.

"It would be great to get there and see what I can do over four heats on a difficult track, but one that I do like. It's potentially a pretty exciting couple of months ahead."

Sportsbeat 2019