Skeleton Bram Zeegers from Venray does not know fear during the descent of the bob track. With its nose a few centimeters above the ice, it hurtles down at speeds of more than 80 miles per hour.
Zeegers hopes to participate in the Winter Olympics in a few years.
Inspection of all bends
Before starting the first descent on the bobsled track in Winterberg, Zeegers checks the entire track on foot. All bends are closely watched. And where possible, he feels the structure of the ice. “I want to know how the ice was chipped. That ultimately determines how I should take the bend,” explains Zeegers during the 45-minute walk.
Scouted by the union
During his CIOS training, the now 23-year-old athlete accidentally came into contact with a sport that he had never heard of until then. He was scouted by the Bob and Slee Association. He appeared to have good sprint speed, power and explosiveness. These are essential qualities that are necessary to achieve enough speed for the first 50 meters after the start.
Kimberley Bos
Zeegers’ training buddy, Kimberley Bos, will be in action at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in the coming days. The athlete from Ede is a serious medal candidate in a sport that is relatively unknown to the general public in the Netherlands. Bram Zeegers is convinced that Bos will drive an excellent race in Beijing. Forest is in shape. She already took overall victory in the World Cup and the European title this year. Bos and Zeegers have regular contact with each other. Messages are sent back and forth for almost all competitions, including the Olympic downhill at the National Sliding Center in Yanqing.
Olympic Games 2026
Zeegers hopes that the good performance of Kimberley Bos will make sponsors enthusiastic about the skeleton. A competition season costs a lot of money. Especially for Zeegers, who wants to exchange the matches in the European Cup for the Intercontinental Cup next season. Then competitions in Canada and the United States are added to his schedule. Ultimately, the Venraynaar wants to progress to the World Cup. That should ultimately result in his participation in the Olympic Games in 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.