Shelley Rudman is a skeleton athlete competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics for Great Britain.
Shelley Rudman and her boyfriend, two-time World Cup champion and sled designer Kristan Bromley, became first-time parents in October 2007 when Rudman gave birth to a daughter, Ella Marie. Rudman and Bromley bring Ella to all of their competitions and try to stay in apartments on the road so she has more space. Kristan's parents, who are retired, often travel with the couple to help with cooking and taking care of Ella during the night. She also sometimes goes to a nursery while her parents are training. Rudman says she is really enjoying being a mom. Despite the challenge of juggling motherhood with training, she says she is managing quite well and that it's "all about the planning."
Rudman took about 18 months off from skeleton during and after her pregnancy. She did "moderate exercise" while she was pregnant in order to maintain fitness and muscle tone so that she could start her comeback right away. Rudman called 2008-09 "my season back into the sport." Her goal was to make Great Britain's World Cup squad, but she ended up winning two World Cup events and finishing second overall for the season. Rudman says she "did quite well, considering" but that she was really low on energy by season's end. At the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, she finished ninth. Afterward Rudman said she was ready to "go home and recharge" and come back next season with more experience and better conditioning. She says she was still working on a few things, including her push and sled technology (with Bromley's company) and that there is a lot she can do to improve. Rudman adds that she's happy she didn't peak last season because the goal is to peak in Vancouver.
Rudman made her Olympic debut in 2006. She did not arrive in Torino as one of the favorites, having finished 24th on the Cesana Pariol track at the 2005 Olympic test event, where she didn't even get to take a second run. Prior to the Torino Games, Rudman never had won a World Cup medal, and at the 2005 World Championships, she was disqualified on a weight technicality. In Torino, she stood in fourth place after the first run and moved up to the silver medal spot on the second. "I can't believe I'm here—it's just so surreal," Rudman said afterward. "I thought I had a shot at the bronze but never the silver." Her medal was the first for Great Britain at the 2006 Games. "I hope (the British team) will be really, really happy and excited for me, and that it will spur everybody else on to follow in pursuit of the performances I achieved today ... That's not me bigging myself up - it's just that now they've seen me here, they can realize that they can all get here as well."
Like many skeleton athletes, Rudman began her sports career in track and field. A hurdler, she competed at the 1999 English Schools' Athletic Association (ESAA) National Track and Field Championships in the 400m hurdles. Rudman was introduced to skeleton while visiting friends at the University of Bath. One was training on a push track, and she decided to try it. When she started training seriously in the sport, Rudman's initial goal was to make the 2010 Games, but she progressed more quickly than she expected.
Shelley Rudman and her boyfriend, two-time World Cup champion and sled designer Kristan Bromley, became first-time parents in October 2007 when Rudman gave birth to a daughter, Ella Marie. Rudman and Bromley bring Ella to all of their competitions and try to stay in apartments on the road so she has more space. Kristan's parents, who are retired, often travel with the couple to help with cooking and taking care of Ella during the night. She also sometimes goes to a nursery while her parents are training. Rudman says she is really enjoying being a mom. Despite the challenge of juggling motherhood with training, she says she is managing quite well and that it's "all about the planning."
Rudman took about 18 months off from skeleton during and after her pregnancy. She did "moderate exercise" while she was pregnant in order to maintain fitness and muscle tone so that she could start her comeback right away. Rudman called 2008-09 "my season back into the sport." Her goal was to make Great Britain's World Cup squad, but she ended up winning two World Cup events and finishing second overall for the season. Rudman says she "did quite well, considering" but that she was really low on energy by season's end. At the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, she finished ninth. Afterward Rudman said she was ready to "go home and recharge" and come back next season with more experience and better conditioning. She says she was still working on a few things, including her push and sled technology (with Bromley's company) and that there is a lot she can do to improve. Rudman adds that she's happy she didn't peak last season because the goal is to peak in Vancouver.
Rudman made her Olympic debut in 2006. She did not arrive in Torino as one of the favorites, having finished 24th on the Cesana Pariol track at the 2005 Olympic test event, where she didn't even get to take a second run. Prior to the Torino Games, Rudman never had won a World Cup medal, and at the 2005 World Championships, she was disqualified on a weight technicality. In Torino, she stood in fourth place after the first run and moved up to the silver medal spot on the second. "I can't believe I'm here—it's just so surreal," Rudman said afterward. "I thought I had a shot at the bronze but never the silver." Her medal was the first for Great Britain at the 2006 Games. "I hope (the British team) will be really, really happy and excited for me, and that it will spur everybody else on to follow in pursuit of the performances I achieved today ... That's not me bigging myself up - it's just that now they've seen me here, they can realize that they can all get here as well."
Like many skeleton athletes, Rudman began her sports career in track and field. A hurdler, she competed at the 1999 English Schools' Athletic Association (ESAA) National Track and Field Championships in the 400m hurdles. Rudman was introduced to skeleton while visiting friends at the University of Bath. One was training on a push track, and she decided to try it. When she started training seriously in the sport, Rudman's initial goal was to make the 2010 Games, but she progressed more quickly than she expected.
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