Sailor and Royal Marine target Olympics bobsleigh glory

Royal Marine Lance Corporal Taylor Lawrence is aiming to better his sixth-place finish from the Beijing Games four years’ ago with Team GB, while Able Rate Supply Chain Shakeel John is looking to make history in his second Olympics appearance with Trinidad and Tobago.

Shakeel, who joined the Royal Navy two years ago and is also an accomplished track athlete in both 100m and 200m, was the youngest Olympian in the sliding sports at Beijing 2022, where he finished 28th with team-mate Axel Brown.

The 24-year-old brakeman returns to the Games, this time as Trinidad and Tobago compete in – for the first time – both the two-man and four-man competitions at Cortina d’Ampezzo, at the Cortina Sliding Centre.

Coached by former Royal Marine and Olympian Lee Johnston, the team finished inside the world’s top 17 in the recent World Cup campaign – securing Shakeel’s place on the Olympic track. 

“If the first time was about the dream, this time is about the discipline,” said Shakeel. “Looking back at the person I was four years ago, I’m proud of the growth and hard work to get Trinidad and Tobago back on this stage.

“Not only qualifying for two-man but, for the first time ever, making history with the four-man qualification.

“Huge thanks to the Royal Navy for allowing me the time to train and compete towards making this dream a reality. To my family and everyone who kept me going when the lights were off – this one is for you. See you in Cortina. The job isn’t finished. Let’s get to work.”

Meanwhile, Taylor, 27, who is also a brakeman, arrives in Milan after a strong finish to the 2025-26 World Cup season with Team GB following a period sidelined with a calf injury.

Taylor re-joined captain Brad Hall’s crew for the latter stages of the season, immediately making an impact against the world’s best. The British four-man team finished fourth overall in the World Cup standings, placing just behind the dominant German crews and underlining Great Britain’s growing status as a major force in the sport.

The Kent man’s return was equally significant in the two-man discipline. Partnering Hall, the pair finished sixth overall in the World Cup, establishing themselves as one of the leading non-German crews heading to the Winter Olympics. 

 “The pinnacle of any sporting career is coming away with an Olympic medal, and we’ve pretty much got every single other medal available to us,” said Taylor, who has been involved in bobsleigh since 2019.

“Coming away with that Olympic medal would just mean that of the sacrifice, the hard work and dedication that we all put in – our friends, our family, wives, girlfriends, everyone puts in, will just make that all worth it.

“To sign our careers off with an Olympic medal is all we can hope for.”