GB bobsleigh star Montell Douglas: How do we encourage more black people into winter sports?
Montell Douglas is a bobsleigh brakewoman on the British team, vying to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She is also a former British sprinter, competing in the 100m and relay at the 2008 summer Olympics, also in Beijing. This is her first BBC Sport column.
But there are quite a few black athletes in bobsleigh, and that's because it's quite an easy transition from athletics. A lot of my team-mates were friends from athletics, and a lot of the team come from black heritage, so for me, it wasn't like I was going into a white-dominated team. It was a mix of people, which was great.
You don't see many black people in winter sports for this very reason. It's just not something you are exposed to.We do long drives between countries and we once got stopped by police three times on one journey, only because I was driving. When a white team-mate drives, aside from the designated border control, we never get stopped.
Racism is experienced by many different people, in many different walks of life, in many different ways. Winter sports are not an exception.'Being a reserve in Pyeongchang is fuel for Beijing' Four years ago in Pyeongchang, at my first Winter Olympics, I was a reserve athlete. I got to go to a Winter Olympic Games, and there are very few people who get to experience that, but it was bittersweet because I really wanted to compete.
But it has added to my motivation to be selected in that sled in Beijing - it's definite fuel. It could have gone the other way, though, because it is mentally tough, especially coming from a blue riband Olympic sport, the 100m, to being called a spare. But in order to achieve your goals, you take it on the chin and move forward.
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