Mica MCNEILL

Great Britain

Bobsleigh

Date of Birth: 25 Sep 1993

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Place of birth: CONSETT

Birth Country:

Great Britain

Residence: CONSETT

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Bobsleigh	2-woman GBR Great Britain	17

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 1	Finished
After Heat 1	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 3	Finished
After Heat 3	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 4	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 5	Finished
After Heat 5	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Official Training Heat 6	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Heat 1	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Heat 3	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-woman Heat 4	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
8	2-woman	2018	PyeongChang, KOR	00:03:24.070

Youth Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
2	2-woman	2012	Innsbruck, AUT	00:01:51.950

World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
8	2-woman	2020	Altenberg, GER	3:47.54
12	2-woman	2019	Whistler, BC, CAN	3:33.85
12	2-woman	2016	Innsbruck, AUT	3:34.97
13	Women's Monobob	2021	Altenberg, GER	4:03.52
14	2-woman	2015	Winterberg, GER	3:50.36
16	2-woman	2017	Koenigssee, GER	3:26.59
19	2-woman	2021	Altenberg, GER	3:52.23
20	2-woman	2013	St. Moritz, SUI	4:37.52

World Cup Rankings
Season	2-woman
2021/22	18
2020/21	9
2019/20	14
2018/19	9
2017/18	12
2016/17	13
2015/16	14
2014/15	10
2013/14	19
2012/13	23

World Cup Rankings
Season	Women's Monobob
2021/22	43
2020/21	8

World Cup - Best Achievements
Season	2-woman
2021/22	1 x 2nd, 1 x 11th, 1 x 14th
2020/21	1 x 4th, 1 x 7th, 1 x 12th
2019/20	2 x 8th, 2 x 12th
2018/19	1 x 4th, 1 x 5th, 1 x 6th

World Cup - Best Achievements
Season	Women's Monobob
2021/22	2 x 18th
2020/21	1 x 4th, 1 x 5th, 1 x 6th

Ten Best World Cup Performances in Current Season
Rank	Event	Season	Location	Result
2	2-woman	2021/22	Sigulda, LAT	1:42.10
11	2-woman	2021/22	St. Moritz, SUI	2:17.23
14	2-woman	2021/22	Winterberg, GER	1:58.66
16	2-woman	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:47.34
17	2-woman	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:56.40
18	2-woman	2021/22	Winterberg, GER	1:55.17
18	Women's Monobob	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:52.85
18	Women's Monobob	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:51.78
19	2-woman	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:56.15
20	2-woman	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:48.54

Nickname:

Meesh

Hobbies:

Watching Netflix.

Occupation:

Athlete

Family:

Father, Anthony. Mother, Paula. Brother, Cory.

Languages spoken:

English

Coach:

National: Bruce Tasker (GBR)

Position style:

Pilot

Other sports:

Hockey, Netball, Athletics: Competed at a county level until age 16.

Debut:

2013 World Cup in Koenigssee (Two-woman - 20th)

Injuries:

March 2017: Concussion in a training run that caused her to miss the final World Cup race of the season.

National team:

2013

Start:

Took up the sport in 2010 after a visit to her school by reigning world champion British bobsledder Nicola Minichiello, who was scouting for athletes to take part in the upcoming Winter Youth Olympic Games. Minichiello saw potential in the 16-year-old and invited her to a trial. "I didn’t even know what bobsleigh was until I got invited to go to the taster day. That’s when I actually YouTubed it to find out more about it – I hadn’t even seen 'Cool Runnings'." (thebbsa.co.uk; teamgb.com, 8 Jan 2020)

Reason:

"From winning silver [at the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games], it gave me a feeling that I had a future within the sport." (teamgb.com, 8 Jan 2020)

Ambition:

To win a medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. (teamgb.com, 8 Jan 2020)

Training:

"We train six days a week and a number of those are two sessions a day, so when you’re finished you just try your hardest to recover so that you can get the most out of the next day." (olympics.com, 25 Oct 2017)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, McNeill's father and brother constructed a 30-metre push track in their backyard, and she invited the rest of the GBR women's team to use it for training. “We've been pushing on them and having training camps and I just think it's been a huge help coming into this season. We knew we couldn't come into a winter without pushing - an off season is eight months long. If you're not behind the bobsleigh for eight months, you're not doing your trade. So we knew it was very important to do this.” (eurosport.com, 30 Jan 2022)

Award:

Olympic Relay Torchbearer (2012)

General Interest

CROWDFUNDING
Just prior to the start of the 2017/18 season, the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association withdrew funding for Great Britain's women's bobsleigh team, while continuing to fund three men's sleds, a decision McNeill claimed was due to "mismanagement" and sexism within the federation.

"It’s hard to explain the devastation. Part of me couldn’t believe it but at the same time, with that system, it didn’t surprise me.” She had to turn to crowdfunding. Her public plea for 30,000 Pounds was met within six days, with nearly 1,000 people eventually contributing over 48,000 Pounds to the costs associated with their season and, ultimately, a berth at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Dedicated her sled to her supporters, calling it "Powered by the People". (micamcneill.com; theguardian.com, 6 Feb 2018; gofundme.com, 19 Sep 2017)

Milestones

OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Finishing eighth with brakewoman Mica Moore at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games is the highest bobsleigh finish in history by a British female bobsledder.

Won GBR's first Winter Youth Olympic Games medal with a silver in the 2012 two-girls event in Innsbruck (with brakewoman Jazmin Sawyers).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
In nine races at five World Championships appearances (2013-21), she has finished every race in the top-20, with a pair of eighths in two-woman her best results (2016, 2020)

Two-time Junior World Championships medallist winning gold in 2017, bronze in 2012. Was fourth in 2016, just 0.06 seconds from the podium.

WORLD CUP
Has four top-five World Cup finishes to date, and still looking for her first podium.

Social Media

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MicaMcNeillBobsleighAthlete/
https://www.instagram.com/micamcneill
https://twitter.com/micamcneill
Athlete Website: https://www.micamcneill.com/
Athlete Website 2: https://www.instagram.com/bobsleigh.girls/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos