Greg Rutherford misses out on Great Britain bobsleigh team for Winter Olympics

The former Olympic long-jump champion made his international debut as part of Lamin Deen’s four-man crew at a World Cup race in Germany in January

(REUTERS)

Greg Rutherford’s dream of becoming a Winter Olympian has been left on ice after he failed to make the cut for the Great Britain bobsleigh team for Beijing

The former Olympic long-jump champion made his international debut as part of Lamin Deen’s four-man crew at a World Cup race in Germany in January.

However, a poor campaign saw Deen’s team fail to make either the official qualification places nor one of the potential reallocation slots for the Games.

Brad Hall will pilot Britain’s only four-man sled in China accompanied by his regular crew of Greg Cackett, Nick Gleeson and Taylor Lawrence, with Ben Simons also travelling as reserve.

Hall’s team will head to Beijing as genuine medal contenders after a season that saw them claim three World Cup podium finishes and fourth place in the overall rankings.

Rutherford, now 35, earned selection to the GB bobsleigh squad in November but his World Cup debut was delayed by a shoulder injury.