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Isle Of Wight Athlete Has Olympic Dreams Quashed With Deselection

Kimberley Murray Twitter @KimMurray88

An Isle of Wight athlete has had her dream of being an Olympian quashed.

Binstead's Kimberley Murray - who was part of Britain's skeleton team has been deselected on the grounds that she 'wasn't good enough '.

The 31-year-old won Gold at Lake Placid at the start of this year and finished in the top 10 at both the European Championships and World Cup in February.

Despite the successful start to 2020, in March she failed her 'push target' which has led to her deselection from the team and her hopes of competing at the Bejing Olympics have now been quashed.

Posting on her Twitter page, she wrote:

'I have something to tell you... In March, British Skeleton deselected me from the team; calling time on my dream of being an Olympian. They said I wasn't good enough to win a medal in Beijing 2022. I disagree.

'However, being that I failed my push target I didn't have any grounds to argue. The rules state if you don't hit a target; you can be deselected. Welcome to elite sport.

'It's been an incredibly tough four months; exacerbated by lockdown. A huge reality check, a lot of anger and a massive sense of loss. I miss my training partners, training and the wider team every day. It's been an incredibly tough four months; exacerbated by lockdown. A huge reality check, a lot of anger and a massive sense of loss. I miss my training partners, training and the wider team every day, I grieve for the loss of my dream; I hate being so powerless. I could write an essay, and I probably will at some point.

'But for now, I just want to say thank you if you've shown me kindness over the last four months. I've quite literally been dropped from a team that was like family, and it's been lonely. I've appreciated every bit of support offered to me; whether you've known my news or not. I am so grateful to be healthy (I'm aware what a huge privilege that is), and for the love and support of my family and friends I am so grateful to be healthy (I'm aware what a huge privilege that is), and for the love and support of my family and friends who have provided a new place for me to belong (even though I always belonged with them) Now I've got this first post out of the way, I hope to share a little more about my transition out of elite sport. It's a lot to deal with and I'll try to offer a little insight if you're interested. If you've got this far... thanks! Stay tuned.'

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