Ben
Riekstins

Place of birthCroydon

Age33
Height6'2"
Weight98kg

Ben Riekstins joined the British Bobsleigh programme in the summer of 2022 after a recommendation from Olympian and friend, Ben Simons.

Ben made his international debut in December 2023 when he pushed John Stanbridge to 10th place in the Europa Cup (EC) 4-man event in Lillehammer alongside Jens Hullah and Callum Dixon.

He made three further appearances last season (all behind Stanbridge in 4-man competition and all on the EC circuit), with his best result a ninth-place finish in St Moritz in January.

Ben has a background in athletics, regularly representing Shropshire and the West Midlands in the 100 and 200m and the long jump.

He works as a personal trainer in Shropshire and has a BSc Hons degree in Sport Science and Personal Training.

BEN IN HIS OWN WORDS...

  • Nickname: Big Ben
  • Most likely to be spotted: in the gym or at the athletics track 
  • Least likely to be found: on a horse
  • Me in three: calm, calculated, cool 
  • Heroes: Denzel Washington
  • Random fact: I have six middle names 
  • If I wasn’t a slider: I'd be either a weightlifter or a sprint coach 
  • Favourite track N/A
  • Favourite Food Cajun chicken wings & burgers
  • Favourite film Avengers Endgame
  • Favourite music Big room house, grime & dubstep

Meet the team