Olympic gold medallist skeleton racer Amy Williams has ‘no worries whatsoever’ over the legality of Team GB’s controversial ‘skinsuits’ and believes other Winter Olympic teams are just jealous.
The row over Team GB’s suit escalated on Wednesday as rivals openly accused Britain’s skeleton sliders of gaining an unfair advantage with their kit after formal complaints were also lodged.
Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday that multiple nations were questioning the legality of Britain’s game-changing suits, which have helped Lizzy Yarnold, Laura Deas and Dominic Parsons dominate the training runs in each of the men’s and women’s competitions.
Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams believes everyone is jealous of Team GB’s ‘skinsuits’
Williams has ‘no worries’ about the suits’ legality and said: ‘people just don’t want you winning’
That has since ratcheted up a notch with former world champion Katie Uhlaender, who is racing here for the USA, going public to call for clarity on whether the suits are legal.
But Williams, who won Great Britain’s first ever gold medal in the skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is confident everyone is competing on an equal playing field and that Team GB are adhering to the rules.
‘We are always thinking where can we gain margins,’ she told The BBC. ‘There are very strict rule-books though. They are the same for every country so I have no worries whatsoever. People just don’t want you winning do they?’
For the 35-year-old MBE the argument over the legality of Team GB’s suits is close to home. She faced similar protests when she won gold in 2010 after concerns were raised about the cutting-edge helmet she used at the games.
Williams added: ‘There was a protest after I’d won gold about my helmet. I knew everything was OK and wasn’t worried because it had been cleared by the jury.
‘At every Olympics everyone tries to think out of the box to gain a competitive advantage, but in reality I don’t think the innovations make that much difference.
The argument over Team GB’s game-changing skeleton ‘skinsuits’ escalated on Wednesday
The aerodynamic suits had drawn formal protests after it helped exceptional results in training
Rivals openly accused Britain’s skeleton sliders of gaining an unfair advantage with their kit
‘We all do it, because even If it gives you 0.01 per cent of an advantage, why wouldn’t you?
‘In reality, the athlete who has a great push, doesn’t make mistakes and puts four consistent runs together will be crowned Olympic champion.’
Four-time Olympic alpine ski racer Chemmy Alcott went even further to suggest the complaints made by other teams is just a tactical ploy to get in the heads of the Team GB athletes.
Former world champion Katie Uhlaender also publicly questioned if the suits are legal or not
‘I think competitors are getting a bit worried,’ she said on BBC. ‘This is controversial but I think they [British opponents] have started a ripple of chat to get into our athletes’ heads.
‘I am hoping they [British athletes] are not letting this panic in. This is the Olympics – everyone wants to win. We are the biggest threat in skeleton right now and everybody wants to displace us.’
The suits in question, developed by TotalSim in Northampton, are said to feature drag-resistant ridges that improve aerodynamics, with the apparent contention coming from section 10.16.3 of skeleton’s international rules, which include the stipulation that ‘no aerodynamic elements whatsoever may be attached either outside or under the race suit’.
Former Olympian Chemmy Alcott said the protests is a tactical ploy to get in Team GB’s head
Team GB’s lawyer has held discussions with organisers at least twice to discuss the suits, as revealed by Sportsmail, and the British Olympic Association issued a statement on Wednesday to insist their suits were compliant.
Team captains were due to meet on Wednesday evening to discuss the situation. The BOA responded in a statement that read: ‘We are confident that all competition equipment meets the technical and commercial requirements for every sport and discipline. We do not comment on specific technical aspects of equipment prior to competition.’
The British suits have also been approved by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.
The British Olympic Association issued a statement insisting the skeleton suits are compliant