Rachel
Blackburn

R&D Engineer

Rachel Blackburn has been involved with British Skeleton for the past three Olympic cycles.

Rachel first began working with the team in November 2006 while she was an EngD student at Southampton University, with the aim of creating an athlete tailored sled design.

She was Team GB’s Accredited Technical Team Member at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games, playing an important role in a hat-trick of gold medal successes for Amy Williams (Vancouver) and Lizzy Yarnold (Sochi and PyeongChang).

Rachel’s current role sees her assist with both the training and education behind the team’s current sled technology, while also helping develop the next generation of sleds for the programme.

She is currently based in Dubai but is in regular contact with the team, travelling to Bath for coaching, education and preparation camps and to races and training camps on circuit, and was again part of the British Skeleton team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

Prior to her involvement with British Skeleton, Rachel completed a Ship Science MEng at University of Southampton and was part of the Sailing Development Squad.

Meet the team