A Royal visit and great news for Lee Johnston

(Daily Reports courtesy of The Winter Sports Agency)

After a couple of fairly easy days the Team is back in full training with a vengeance.

Dan Humphries had been having trouble sleeping, but the team doctor had sorted that out and he is now itching to get into the competition proper.

And Karl Johnson spent most of yesterday in bed with a jaw/tooth/throat infection, losing several pounds in the past few days through not been able to eat properly. He's now on a course of antibiotics and has trained hard today.

Lee had been testing the Reich against his Hilti and the results of two days of testing proved that the Hiltibrand sled was quicker than the Reich. For the last two days Nicola has been using the Hilti to see if she had the same success. She made 4 runs in the sled and each run was comparable with the top Canadian, Helen Upperton, who won the World Cup race in St Moritz some 3 weeks ago.

Nicola feels that her consistency and feel in driving is getting better every day and that she is gaining a lot of speed further down the track - which is what is needed in Turin. Confidence is soaring and she senses that this is another step closer to the Olympic podium.

The decision has now been made to use the Hilti at the Games barring any major damage and the sleds have now been painted in a dark metallic Blue - they look "very smart"?.

Lee Johnston has had his Marine bosses out over the last two days and what a change has been noticed in Lee; smart, clean shaven, well spoken, courteous and charming.... Nah not really, Lee has been himself as usual but he must have made a favourable impression because today it was announced that Lee is to be allowed to train full time for the next 4 years to attempt a medal at the Vancouver Games. Congratulations Lee.

Gordon hosted the Marines throughout their trip which according to requires considerable stamina. Bos was on top form though to host HRH Prince Michael of Kent today. HRH was at the top of the track and met most of the team. Jackie said that he was very friendly and as well as taking an interest in the current team he talked about the era when he used to slide.

The 4-man team has now completed 4 training runs in the new combination. They went very well, the load is slick and the start times are already as good as they were achieving in the old format. The boys are confident that with a bit more practice they will find the bit extra they are striving for.

After sliding today, Karl and Martin had a good sprint session. For Karl it was good to do some hard training after being ill for a few days. His times were good and he is feeling sharp.

Jenny and Nicola also had a great gym session where Nic managed a new personal best for 3 lifts on the cleans. She feels that the camp in St Moritz has been invaluable, but now the girls can't wait to get into race training.

The mood in the camp is great - really great. The Team heads off to Turin tomorrow in good spirits and really looking forward to the challenge ahead.