Following on from a successful 2016 season, 28-year-old skeleton athlete Kimberley Murray has launched a second crowdfunding campaign to help her on the road to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Kim, who grew up in Ryde, is quite literally going headfirst at 90mph in a bid to pursue her dream of representing Great Britain and the Isle of Wight in just 5 years time.
You may recognise Kim’s story following Island Echo’s coverage of her first crowdfunding campaign in 2015, which was a great success and raised £2,545.
Now, Kim has reached the point in her career where she needs to invest in vital equipment to further assist her development as a skeleton athlete. The time has come to invest in her own helmet and 2 pairs of runners, at a total cost of nearly £1,500.
Kim has said:
“Great Britain have won the past two Olympic golds in the women’s skeleton; both winners were originally athletes from other sports, just like me. I want to follow in their footsteps.
“I only started training for skeleton two years ago having been an international level long jumper beforehand. I was selected onto the GB talent programme for skeleton in 2015 and haven’t looked back since. I also gave up my career as an exercise physiologist in high performance sport; it was all a big risk.
“Fortunately that risk has paid off and I have just finished my first full competitive season racing in the Europa Cup for Great Britain. I ended the season placed 5th overall in the Europa Cup standings (consisting of eight races). Highlights of the season included a 3rd place in Altenberg, Germany; a notoriously difficult track, after just 5 training runs. I also achieved fourth places in Altenberg and St. Moritz in January.
Article continues below this advertisement “It was a very special experience being on the podium and seeing the Union Jack be raised in my name and something I’d like to see a lot more of going forwards in my career”.
Alongside being a full-time athlete, which includes spending the majority of winter abroad for training as there is no skeleton track in the UK, Kim works as a personal trainer, coach and academic tutor.
Kim added:
“I was lucky enough to have a huge amount of support for my original campaign which allowed me to commit to skeleton two years ago and I am asking for support again to keep my journey on track. Without that support I would not have had the success I have had so far; thank you.
“I am more committed than ever to skeleton and with every race I will get closer to that Olympic Games in 2022. I am prepared to make the choices necessary to ensure I fulfil my potential”.
You can support Kimberley on her journey by visiting https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/headfirst-towards-beijing-2022-winter-olympics/.
