The father of Laura Deas gave Skeleton bosses a bone-rattling blast after his daughter’s China dream was shattered.
Olympic medalist Deas came to Beijing looking to improve on her 2018 Bronze but finished so far down the field she only just qualified for the final run.
The Welsh slider ended up in 19th place at a bitterly cold Yanqing National Sliding Centre, three places ahead of team mate Brogan Crowley.
And with the men also performing below their own expectations, fingers were pointed at the quality of kit bought with £6.42 million of UK Sport funding.
“It’s on you, British Skeleton” said Ewen Deas after seeing a tearful Laura interviewed halfway through her competition.
“The athletes are doing their best, they are starting well, they are sliding well. The speed is being haemorrhaged by the kit.”
“Laura’s interview is heartbreaking, not happy viewing if you’re a British Skeleton slider.”
Deas, 33, finished nearly four seconds behind German winner Hannah Niese and stopped short of saying she would continue to the Milan Games in 2026.
“I really do not know at this point, this isn’t an ending I would have hoped for,” she said. “The outcome is clearly a long way from what I want and expect.
“It’s frustrating for me personally because I know I’m capable of so much more. It has been an emotionally tough 24 hours.
“No-one comes to the Olympics, especially a previous medalist, to finish 19th. Nobody works this hard for four years to do that.
“So of course I’m disappointed. The speed that I so desperately want is not there and there’s nothing I can do about it. But I am not a quitter.
“I’ll go away and reflect and see how I feel when the dust settles.”
Deas, 33, was reared on a diet of British skeleton success. Seven medals in the last five Olympics, every gold won by Britain in the last 20 years.
She had seen Amy Williams win in Vancouver, Lizzy Yarnold do the same in Sochi and been a team mate when Yarnold retained her title in Pyeongchang.
So the feeling she had last night was not dissimilar to how the Men’s Four felt in Tokyo when their boat broke a 20-year run of British dominance.
The difference was that here it was the tech that let these sliders down.
“I have no doubt that in four years time we will be back on that medal rostrum,” said Deas.
“We have got a very established record in the sport and you look at the talent that we have got in our team. I am sure this is a blip.”
Britain’s quest for that elusive first medal now turns to Brad Hall, Nick Gleeson and their two-man bob.
Yesterday they posted the second quickest time in official practise and were satisfied enough not to take their second run.
