SWINDON slider Craig Thompson said he found it ‘surreal’ to find out he had been selected for Team GB in the country’s 2020 Bob Skeleton World Championships squad.

Thompson finished second in last season’s Intercontinental Cup – the second tier of elite bob skeleton competition – and comes into the global event having landed 16th at the European Championships and 24th at the first World Cup event of the year.

The 27-year-old will be making his major championships debut in Altenberg, Germany in the coming week as the biggest names from all over the world travel to Saxony to battle it out for a medal.

Though Thompson himself admitted he may not be in contention for a top-10 finish, the Wiltshire athlete was still delighted to have the chance to follow in a line of sliders who hail from the same county as him after Laura Deas and Shelly Rudman.

He said: “It’s really cool to be selected for the world championships and to represent my country at a major championships on the world stage.

“I’m pretty happy to be doing that, but it’s quite surreal to me still because it’s my first ever major championship as well.

“It’s so special to me to think that I’ve been selected and I’m going to a world championship, so I’m really, really pleased and over the moon with the call.

“Who knew there would be three athletes from Wiltshire representing Great Britain in bob skeleton and going to a world championship and beyond?”

As well as Thompson’s inexperience of a major championship, the Swindon man has also not felt the ice underneath his sled much at the German track.

The 27-year-old raced the 1413 meter track twice at the beginning of 2018 – finishing 11th and 15th during an Intercontinental Cup event.

Thompson is therefore keen to simply enjoy the experience and soak up as much information as he can.

He said: “I’ve not been to Altenberg much at all really.

“I’ve had maybe two or three weeks experience at the track, but I’ve only raced there competitively once during one of the weeks I was there.

“Although I’ve only had a limited amount of runs there, I’m still feeling good and positive about trying to get my best result of the season.

“If I could come in the top-20, or maybe higher, then I would be very happy with that.

“But it’s my first ever major championship, so I’m not expecting to set the world alight.

“I just want to enjoy the experience and see what the whole event involves.”