It was hardly the most auspicious start on a journey to Olympic glory. When Dom Parsons was first invited to the Team GB skeleton trials, he got so drunk the night before that he had to pass on the running tests the next morning.
He did not even know what skeleton was. But when he went down the push track for the first time, he found the ultimate hangover cure and a new obsession. Eleven years - and plenty of bumps and bruises later - that obsession was rewarded when the 100-1 outsider became Britain’s first medallist in Pyeongchang with a skeleton bronze on Friday.
Few had flagged the 30-year-old student, who is studying for a PhD in thermo combustion in turbo-diesel engines at the University of Bath, as having even an outside shot at glory. Yet here he was basking in the adulation of an enthusiastic British support.
Among those celebrating were his delighted parents, David and Judith, who said they suspected their son might have a rare knack for driving even as a child.
“I can remember when he was two I bought him a red Porsche pedal car,” explained Judith. “When he saw it, he shouted with absolute glee. And he was able to reverse it around the back of the house at 90 degrees at two years old. He had great driving and precision.”
At school their son was a decent 400m runner and he hoped to compete in the Summer Olympics. So they were a little taken back when he told them he wanted to fly down a track at 80mph on a tiny tray. “I thought to myself: ‘Are you sure?’” admits Judith.
The parental support did not end there. Twice he lost his funding and has had to rely on the bank of mum and dad, or his own dwindling finances, to keep his Olympic dream alive.
As his father David explained: “Eight years ago, Dom and I were the British team for the junior world championships. And we were the funding – well, us and his great aunt Elsie.”
And no sooner had he showed his promise by finishing 10th in the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, than he injured his ankle while jogging to a dentist appointment. Such was its severity that it required ligament reconstruction surgery and it took him a year to be able to sprint properly again.
Even the sight of her son getting back to the start line at an Olympics was enough for Judith. “I had all sorts of nervous emotions,” she admitted. “On Thursday I cried when he was going down the slopes but I just thought: ‘He’s going to get a medal.’ He’s got it all together, he seems so much calmer.”
Even now he has one of the slowest starts in the sport. Yet he is able to overcome that disadvantage – in part because of his excellent driving, but also because of the advantage Team GB appear to have over its rivals due to spending big bucks on technology.
Earlier this week the Guardian revealed that Team GB were using special skin suits, which are able to disrupt the flow of air around the rider and reduced the resistance acting on the body. Other teams in Pyeongchang have also wondered whether that tech advantage extends to their sleds, runners and helmets too.
As the Latvian coach Zintis Ekmanis put it: “Being good at skeleton used to be a third about the start, a third about driving skills, and a third technology. Now it’s half about technology.”
Afterwards, Parsons was coy about the “little margins and innovations” – as he called them. But he agreed they had made all the difference. How could he not? After all, the gap between Parson’s podium spot and the purgatory of fourth place, occupied by the five-time world champion Martins Dukurs, was just 0.11 seconds.
Team GB officials hope it will set off a chain reaction of British medals this weekend, with Lizzy Yarnold and Laura Deas within striking distance of gold in the women’s skeleton at the halfway stage, and the short track speed skater Elise Christie going for redemption in the 1500m following her crash in the 500m final on Tuesday.
Meanwhile some may recall that Parsons success was Great Britain’s first Olympic medal in the men’s skeleton since John Crammond, who wrote about winter sports for the Observer, won bronze at the St Moritz 1948 Games. Crammond celebrated by retiring four years later at the age of 45, and sailing around the Mediterranean for the last 25 years of his life. Parson’s plans are more modest.
He will go on holiday to Australia after these Games and then wants to finally finish the PhD he has been working on for the past five years. “I’ve mentioned to my supervisor before that I am a little bit worried that I am not making the progress I need to,” he admitted. “And each time he is like: ‘Everyone says that when they are doing a PhD!’” But as I keep telling him, they are not competing in the Olympics as well!”
After that he hopes to get a job in Formula One motor racing. For now, though, he admits that there may be the odd glass of champagne over the coming days. Dom Perignon, presumably.
