FORMER British Olympic bobsleigh driver John Jackson has finally got the news he has waited more than five years for – he’s a medal winner.
Last week he and his team mates, who competed in the Winter Olympics at Sochi in Russia, in 2014, said they were over the moon at the confirmation they are Olympic bronze medal winners.
Mr Jackson, who grew up in Barnard Castle and was a pupil at Teesdale School, is a sergeant in the Royal Marines and now based in Devon.
He skippered the British bobsleigh team at the games, which were mired by doping scandals.
He said: “Woohoo. And there is it – recognition from the International Olympics Committee of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic four-man bobsleigh results is a big step forward to us receiving our Olympic bronze medal.
“Disappointingly, it is a medal we should have receive on an Olympic podium in 2014. Cheats have cost us that moment, along with other nations too.
“Finally as a team we have the result we have waited so long for and the whole of Team GB has a total haul of five from the games.”
Originally Mr Jackson and his teammates Bruce Tasker, Stuart Benson and Joel Fearson finished fifth in their event – only 0.11 of a second off third place with two Russian teams ahead of them.
However the four man Russian team which finished first were disqualified in 2017.
This moved the British team up to fourth place.
A second Russian team, which finished in fourth place, was also stripped of their position and the IOC requested the results be modified accordingly.
However, it took up until last Wednesday for this to be finally done.
Sir Hugh Robertson, chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), said: “Everyone involved in the British Olympic Sport, and most particularly the athletes, will be delighted by the overdue award.
“However it is yet another example of British athletes denied their moment of podium glory by state sponsored cheating.”
The BOA will now work with the athletes to decide where and when to award the medals.
