James Howard is a former skeleton athlete who now holds the role of Lead Development Coach within the British Skeleton programme.

James first joined the British Skeleton team in early 2012 and went on to represent his country on both the Europa Cup (EC) and Intercontinental Cup (ICC) circuit before retiring from competitive sliding in 2016.

He returned to the programme in 2017, first as a part-time coach at the back end of the 2016/17 season and then in a full-time capacity from May 2017 onwards.

Having previously attended the PyeongChang Games as part of Team GB's Ambitions Programme for aspiring Olympic athletes and coaches, James was part of British Skeleton's coaching team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

He has since played a key role in the programme’s success throughout the 2026 Olympic cycle, with a particular focus on the team’s three leading female sliders, all of whom won World Cup gold medals during that time. Amelia Coltman, Tabby Stoecker and Freya Tarbit all finished in the top nine at the 2026 Games in Milan Cortina, while Stoecker won Olympic gold in the team event under the stewardship of his coaching.

Prior to starting Skeleton via the now famous UK Sport and English Institute of Sport backed national talent identification scheme, James played rugby, football and hockey to a high standard.