Nicola Minichiello

Nicola Minichiello , also Nicola Gautier-Minichiello , often also Nicole Minichiello (* as Nicola Gautier on March 21, 1978 in Sheffield ) is a British bobsleigh pilot whose greatest success is winning the 2009 World Championship.

Nicola Minichiello is a teacher, lives in Renishaw and studies physical education at Sheffield Hallam University . Team Minichiello in 2008/09 included the brakemen Jackie Gunn (formerly Jackie Davies) and Gillian Cooke . The team's head coach is Gomer Lloyd and ice coach Peter Gunn.

Minichiello started bobsleigh in December 2001 and was initially a brakeman. Just three months later, she took part with the pilot Cheryl Done in the first women's bobsleigh competitions at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and finished 12th. In the 2002/03 season, she began as a pilot herself. With her colleague Jackie Davies, she alternated as a pilot and pusher during the season. In the 2003/04 season Minichiello started as GB I and was 16th of the overall World Cup and was British champion. With the brakeman Liz Pidgeon she finished 14th at the 2004 Bobsleigh World Championships . In the 2004/05 season , Minichiello drove again with Davies. In the summer they won the World Cup in Leipzig . Both finished eighth in the overall World Cup, but the first major success of their career was winning the silver medal at the 2005 Bobsleigh World Cup in Calgary behind Sandra Kiriasis's bob . It was the best international British bobsleigh result in 40 years. In the following year , Minichiello / Davies finished seventh in the overall World Cup ranking and finished ninth at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Cesana Pariol . In the 2006/07 season there were some changes in the British team, Minichiello only took part in two World Cup races, but they finished in single digits and was at the end of 17th of the overall World Cup. At the 2007 Bobsleigh World Championships in St. Moritz , she finished 16th.

In the 2007/08 season , Minichiello was able to build on its old successes, top ten results became normal again. In the end, she again reached seventh place in the overall World Cup. At the 2008 Bobsleigh World Championships in Altenberg , the British rider finished sixth in the two-man bobsleigh and barely missed a medal in fourth place in the team competition. The most successful season was the following . In Winterberg , she finished second in the World Cup behind Shauna Rohbock , making it the first time on the podium in a World Cup race. Two third places followed in St. Moritz. In the overall World Cup, the Briton achieved bronze. The best result, however, was victory at the 2009 Bobsleigh World Championship in Lake Placid , where she and her pusher Gunn won ahead of Rohbock and Cathleen Martini . She also won a bronze medal at the 2009 European Bobsleigh Championships in St. Moritz.

Before her bobsleigh career, Minichiello was a heptathlete . In 2000 she was third strongest heptathlete on the British Isles behind Olympic champions Denise Lewis and Julie Hollman . At the 2001 Universiade in Beijing , she took 16th place.

Web links

• Homepage of the Minichiello team
• Minichiello at olympics.org.uk
• Nicola Minichiello in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )