Sport: Skeleton DOB: 05/11/1990 OWIA Athlete Performance Contract Commenced: 2018 Institute/Academy: Queensland Academy of Sport
Personal Best Results: Olympic Winter Games - 16th, PyeongChang, KOR, 2018 World Championships - 16th, Winterberg, GER, 2015 World Cup - 7th, Lake Placid, USA, 2016
Note: current as @ 01/05/2020
Olympic Winter Games Attended 2018 - PyeongChang, Korea
BIOGRAPHY
Jackie Narracott’s Olympic dream came from stories about her uncle Paul Narracott who was the first Australian to compete at both a Summer and Winter Olympic Games. He ran in the men’s 100m and 200m at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 before participating in the two-man bobsleigh at Albertville 1992.
34 years after her uncle’s debut, Narracott made her own Olympic dreams come true as she represented Australia in the women's skeleton event where she finished in 17th place. Narracott showed incredible consistency at the 2018 Games with run times of 52.53, 52.76, 52.62 and 52.82 down the Alpensia Sliding Centre. The gold medal was claimed by Great Britain’s Lizzy Yarnold, Germany’s Jacqueline Loelling claimed silver while GB’s came in third.
The Queenslander has a strong athletics background; favouring the 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump. She originally thought her Olympic dream would be fulfilled at the Summer Games, however she joined the Australian bobsleigh squad in Europe in 2011 where she met the national skeleton coaches who convinced her to make the switch.
Narracott took her first ride on a skeleton sled in 2012, she made her skeleton World Cup debut at the end of 2014 and her best result has been a 7th place finish at the Lake Placid World Cup in January 2016. Narracott has had several top-10 finishes at North American Cup events, including winning silver in Calgary in November 2016.
At the 2017 World Championships in Königssee, Germany, Narracott placed 17th followed by a 15th place finish at the Olympic Test Event and World Cup event in PyeongChang in March 2017. January 2018 saw Narracott record her best result in two years, finishing 7th at the St Moritz World Cup just weeks out from her Olympic debut. The highlight of Narracott's 2018-2019 season was a top-10 finish at the Winterberg World Cup, before her season was cut short after competing in Innsbruck.
Narracott made a successful return to sport in 2019-2020, highlighted by a ninth place World Cup finish in Lake Placid, USA.
Q & A
Proudest moment: standing on the block at the Olympics for the first time
I began my sport in March 2012
When I am not training or competing I am: drinking coffee, working or somewhere in the sun
I enjoy my sport because I get to go faster than I can legally drive a car. The adrenaline rush when it goes well is amazing!
Education: Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science at University of Qld
Favourite international competition/track: St Moritz coz it's the only natural track in the world and Whistler coz it feels like home
Favourite Food: Italian
Favourite Music: Classic rock
Favourite other sport to watch or play: to watch: AFL, athletics, the Olympics; to play: athletics, beach volleyball
Childhood Ambition: to be an Olympic Champion
My Hero is. I don't really have one but my inspiration is definitely my Uncle Paul