JCCM Jane Cowmeadow Communications and Management

Nicola Minichiello, is UK’s number one driver for women’s bobsleigh, and together with her new brakewoman, Gillian Cooke, became the world number one team when they won the World Championships two woman bobsleigh in Lake Placid in March 2009.

Nicola’s win in the 2008/2009 season is the culmination of a great season in which she won a silver and two bronzes during the eight World Cup races. She was partnered by two different brakewomen during the campaign, Gillian Cooke, who raced in six World Cup rounds, including the most recent at Park City, and Jackie Gunn.

They are the first ever British woman to win a World Championship and the only winter sportswomen to be reigning World Champions going into the Olympics next year.

Team Minichiello Photo Gallery

Their success has catapulted them on to the front pages of national newspapers and turned the attentions of the British media to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The 2009/2010 season is an exciting one for Minichiello with her eyes firmly on Olympic Gold.

History
Minichiello came from an athletics background, and as a heptathlete competed both at junior and senior level internationally. In 2000 she was ranked 3rd in Britain.

On turning her attention to Bobsleigh in December 2001 success came very quickly – within 3 months she made Olympic selection. She was brakewoman for the GB number one team in the inaugural women's race in the 2002 Olympic Games. She then became a driver in the 2002/2003 season, and teamed up with Jackie Davies alternating between the back and front seat for most of the season.

For the 2003/2004 season Nicola was selected as the GB number one driver winning the British championships and finishing overall 16th place on the world cup circuit. She then teamed up with Liz Pidgeon and went on to finish 14th in the World Championships.

Nicola and Jackie paired back up for the 2004/2005 season and immediately went back to their winning ways. After winning the World push champs in Leipzig during the summer, the girls went on to finish a creditable 8th place overall on the world cup circuit. The most spectacular event was the World Championships in Calgary where the girls brought home a silver medal. This was the best World championship result by a British Bobsleigh Team in 40 years.

The 2005/2006 season was another successful one with the girls improving their overall world cup ranking to 7th place, and finishing a creditable 9th place in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. This was the best ever Olympic result by a women’s team and the best overall result for almost 10 years.

The 2006/2007 season saw a transition of teams with Nicola changing brakewomen; it was a promising start with podium finishes on the American and European cup circuits and a top 8 finish in the European championships.

The 2007/2008 season saw a return to the top flight once again with a top 7 finish overall in the world rankings and top 6 finishes in both the European and World championships.

Now in 2009 they are ranked 3rd for the World Cup.

Nicola and the team are once again back on track for medal success in Vancouver 2010.

Minichiello lives and trains in Sheffield, in the little time she has to herself when not training she likes to spend time with friends, relaxing with a book or watching movies, and is an accomplished shopper!