‘Barney Bolt’ bidding to do his home town proud, Teesdale Mercury

AN ice-cool Royal Marine says he will do Barnard Castle proud in the Winter Olympics after being selected for Great Britain’s bobsleigh team.

Corporal John Jackson, who has been dubbed the “Barney Bolt”, will be the team driver in the 

four-man and two-man bobsleigh events.

He will travel at speeds of up to 95mph as the team hunts for medals in Vancouver, Canada.

Cpl Jackson went to Teesdale School but now lives in the South of England.

He said: “The Olympic track in Whistler is quite technical and difficult to get down fast without making a mistake.

“The top speed at the track is 95mph – you are literally racing on the edge all the way down the track and any mistake at this speed could end up in a disaster.  

“But hopefully I’ll do Barnard Castle proud.”

Father-of-three Cpl Jackson, 32, took up the sport after being attracted by its speed, adrenaline and teamwork.

He said: “I just wanted to have a go to say I had done it and picked it up quite well – it also helped that I was quite suited to the sport physically too.

“Since then my focus has been on getting to the 2010 Winter Olympics.” 

The bobsleigh events start on February 20 and Cpl Jackson – who trains twice a day, five days a week – is hopeful that Great Britain can achieve a good placing.

The success of a team hinges on the initial pushing phase, as well as the steering and the materials of the sled.

And Cpl Jackson said Great Britain’s team is among the top ten in the world for their ability at getting the sled off to a good start.

“I think, overall, we are looking to be as close to the top 10 as possible, but when the top 20 sleds are 

separated by half a second it is always close racing,” the Marine said.

He spends summers doing his day job, but is given time off from the Army in the winter to train and compete. 

Getting ready for the event has been gruelling, but his 13 years of experience in the Royal Marines has helped.

“Bobsleigh training is very difficult both in the gym and track, pushing your body to its physical limits needs a lot of dedication and determination,” added Cpl Jackson, who is a personal training instructor in the forces.

Cpl Jackson hopes friends and family from Teesdale will be 

among the millions of TV viewers who will tune in to watch the Olympics.

Cpl Jackson said: “I used to go to Teesdale Comp many moons ago and I still have grandparents, aunties and uncles living in Barney.”

His mother, Julie Lee-Shields, moved from Barnard Castle to Darlington in October. 

However, Cpl Jackson won’t get much time to chill out after races –his girlfriend, Paula Walker, will be competing for Great Britain in the two-woman bobsleigh event.