Newport-born Mica Moore moves fast. Joe Towns caught his breath long enough to catch up with the Commonwealth Games sprinter-turned-Winter Olympics bobsleigher, finishing higher than any other Team GB bobsleigher before.
How does it feel to be an Olympian?
It feels incredible. As an athlete you want all the hard work you put in to amount to the greatest achievement, which for me was competing at the Olympic Games… although I still can’t believe I actually went.
How fast does a bobsleigh sled go?
Up to 90mph – I don’t know what this looks like though as my eyes are firmly closed!
When you are hurtling down the track, what are you thinking? And is it true you don’t like rollercoasters?
I’m usually just thinking about where we are on the track. In the back all I can feel is every bump and tap the sled takes so I can sense which part of the track we are on. It is true, I hate rollercoasters! I take a lot of persuading to get on one and scream from start to finish.
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the craziest, how crazy do you have to be to be a bobsleigh competitor?
I think you’re going to have to be off the scale! Honestly, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done, you really have to be fearless to throw yourself down the ice everyday.
So you’ve represented Wales in a Commonwealth Games as a sprinter, you’ve represented Great Britain in a Winter Olympics in the bobsleigh – what’s your next sporting ambition?
I would love to compete for Wales again at another Commonwealth Games as I absolutely love putting on the red vest and representing my nation! Competing for Great Britain again is the ultimate dream but will take a lot of hard work.
You’ve enrolled on the Sport Broadcast MSc at Cardiff Met University – a on- year Master’s degree designed to prepare students for a career in Sports Journalism and Broadcasting – what attracted you to the course? And what do you hope to learn from it?
I’ve always had a keen interest in sport broadcasting and since the Games I’ve had a lot of involvement with media and interviews, I always find myself thinking I’d love to do this as a career. I hope the course can give me confidence to pursue my career dream.
You were a finalist on Total Wipeout – are there any other TV shows you’d compete on? Strictly? I’m a Celeb?
I think Strictly would be way out my comfort zone as dancing is not my best skill! But having a go in the jungle would be high on my list – some of the bush tucker challenges look so fun. Although I’m super scared of frogs and snakes so as soon as they bring out one of those I think I’d be shouting.
If I could bring a show back to go on it would definitely be Gladiators. As a child I dreamed of going on it and running up the travelator.
Your partner is a decathlete – would you ever fancy Decathlon?
No way, pole vault is too scary for me and 1500m is a long old way for a sprinter. But I wouldn’t say no to giving heptathlon a go, it’s like competing to become the ultimate athlete.
How often do you train?
I train six days a week, some days twice a day, but I enjoy all of it… most of the time. I like working to make myself a better athlete; my favourite session is sprints starts, as that’s probably my best part of my race after competing in bobsleigh.
With women’s sport starting to get the coverage it deserves, how important are female sports role models to the next generation of women?
I feel like that’s something I lacked when I was growing up – I would love to be someone that girls can look up to and know that doing sport and being strong is OK.
What’s your message to young women dreaming of becoming Olympians?
Keep on striving for your goal, times will be tough. You may have to miss out on parties, but all the hard work you put in will be rewarded when you represent your country!