GB luge athlete Elsa Desmond on slippery slope to world championships

Maidenhead athlete Elsa Desmond says she has been given a ‘huge opportunity’ after being selected to represent Team GB at the Luge World Cup.

Desmond, from Cookham, will compete on the World Cup circuit at tracks across Europe and North America in the build-up to January's Luge World Championships in Winterberg, Germany.

Desmond has spent the summer training in the Czech Republic and Romania utilising wheeled sleds and will now move on to the ice in preparation for November's season opener in Innsbruck, Austria. 

The 21-year-old balances her luge training with her studies at Kings College, London where she is in her third year studying medicine.

She is also a member of the Royal Air Force's University Air Squadron and hopes to eventually join the RAF on completion of her studies.

GB Luge chief executive Gavin Arnold said: “We are delighted to welcome Elsa to the team for the 2018/19 season.

“Elsa is an extremely dedicated athlete and a real prospect for the Beijing 2022 Olympic games.

“We look forward to supporting her as she begins her Olympic adventure and  attempts to realise her ambition of representing the nation at the highest level of the sport."

Desmond said: “I am really grateful to GB Luge and the FIL for selecting me to race with them this season.

“This is a huge opportunity to develop and improve as an athlete and I’m really looking forward to the season.”

Desmond, who attended Highfield School in Maidenhead, has been awarded a scholarship by the International Luge Federation (FIL) and hopes to represent Team GB at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Unlike most Olympic Sports, Luge receives no government funding from UK Sport and athletes must raise their own funds to cover training and competition costs.

As a result, Desmond is now searching for local sponsors to help her on her Olympic journey to Beijing 2022, where she hopes to become the first female luge athlete to represent Team GB at the Olympics in 34 years.

For more news on Desmond and the GB luge team, visit gbla.co.uk or follow @LugeGB on twitter.