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The British Legion: Micky Yule takes on the Skeleton World Champion

MICKY YULE TAKES ON THE SKELETON WORLD CHAMPION

Former Army Sergeant Micky Yule challenges the Skeleton World Champion to a duel with no experience and only four weeks to get ready.
31 January 2018
Skeleton is similar to bobsleigh, but you do it solo, face first and only inches from the ice. Skeleton athletes can experience forces up to 5G and speeds of over 130km/h.
Micky Yule has no experience tackling the Skeleton. But when you ask him why he decided not just to take on the sport, but to challenge the World Champion to a race he simply says:
“Just because it hadn’t been done before, didn’t mean we couldn’t do it – just that people weren’t crazy enough to attempt it.”

STAFF SERGEANT YULE

Micky joined the Army as he turned 17, heading to basic training a week after his birthday. It was the start of a great career.
“I was doing really well. I was 31 and I’d just been promoted to staff sergeant so I was flying through the ranks.
"Everything changed on the 1st of July. My whole life got turned upside down."
“I never had any intention of leaving, my career was rolling out in front of me and I was happy. Then everything changed on the 1stof July. My whole life got turned upside down.”
“I was leading a high risk search team on a foot patrol in Afghanistan. I stood on a pressure pad IED and lost both legs beneath the knee.”
Micky will take on Skeleton World Champion Martins Dukurs with the help of his friends Will and Mike.

TURNING TO SPORT

Micky had been a member of the Army weightlifting team before his injury. So when he was in intensive care he was thinking about getting fit again.
“I asked the physio about gym equipment because I was just wasting away being in the hospital and on meds. They actually let me down and I started training when I had a cage around my pelvis to hold my body together. I had a broken arm, and I remember doing weights.”
Micky went onto compete at the Commonwealth Games and the Paralympics and won gold at the inaugural Invictus Games.
Will Micky be able to beat Martins?

DON’T STOP GRINDING

“There were loads of challenges. We got told many times that we should stop, that it wasn’t achievable, that I was going to hurt myself and find myself in hospital again.
“But we had a really strong team, with Will, Mike and my coach Kristan Bromley. We were a close knit team and we believed in each other.
“It was hard and it was pushing the boundaries and double amputees had never done it before, especially not taking on the world’s best on the most dangerous track.
“But just because it hadn’t been done before, didn’t mean that we couldn’t do it - just that people weren’t crazy enough to attempt it.”
See the video below for the result...
Report

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