British bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall approaches the build-up to Milano Cortina 2026 as the most significant moment of his career, a journey that is set to take him to his third Olympic Winter Games after becoming the most successful male bobsleigh athlete in British history. Yet his path did not always point towards elite sport. Hall openly admits that without discovering sport in his teenage years, his life would likely have taken a very different direction.
Growing up in Crawley, West Sussex, Hall found himself involved in frequent fights, suspensions and unexplained absences from school. He describes those early years as a period marked by excess energy, little structure and no clear focus. Teachers recognised his athletic potential, but also the lack of discipline that prevented him from channelling it.
A turning point through sport
Everything began to shift when he discovered rugby at around 13 or 14, encouraged by his father. The sport provided discipline, work habits and a constructive outlet for his energy. He played as an inside-centre, represented Sussex and later joined the South of England Colleges squad, experiences that boosted his confidence and helped him understand that he could build his identity through effort and commitment.
His development continued in athletics, where he competed in the decathlon and achieved a national Top-5 ranking in the under-23 discus. While studying at Brunel University, he was identified by Power2Podium, a talent identification programme designed to channel speed and power athletes into winter sports. He initially trialled in skeleton, but after an unsuccessful test in Lillehammer, he was redirected to bobsleigh, a discipline in which he immediately excelled.
Other athletes shaped by rugby or athletics
Examples such as Canadian Heather Moyse, who transitioned from rugby to bobsleigh and became an Olympic champion, highlight how one sport can form the foundation for success in another. Australian athlete Simon Dunn, who began in rugby, rebuilt his personal and sporting life through bobsleigh after relocating to Canada, a move that transformed his trajectory.
Another case is Gemma Rowland from Wales, who overcame a major health issue in her teenage years and found in rugby a route back to stability, confidence and structure. These stories share a common thread: sport as a means to regain direction and purpose in lives that were, at times, difficult to navigate.
Brad Hall and his major opportunity at Milano Cortina 2026
Hall’s progress has led him to some of the strongest results in British bobsleigh history, including European gold in 2023 in Altenberg, world silver in St. Moritz and world bronze in Lake Placid. His preparation for the upcoming Games comes in a cycle marked by personal injuries, team setbacks and internal rebuilding following the loss of funding ahead of Beijing 2022.
His immediate goal is to stabilise both the technical and physical aspects of his team ahead of February. In a competitive landscape defined by rivalry with Germany, which he describes as “David versus Goliath”, Hall enters the season aiming to perform at the highest level. His belief that his personal journey —shaped by discipline, effort and the search for direction— continues to guide him towards Milano Cortina 2026.
