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It was the fear of failing to pass one of the Royal Navy’s fitness tests that really got Mel Haslam into sport.

She needed to meet that criteria to serve on the frontline in Afghanistan – which she ended up doing – but it also led Mel in directions she could never have dreamed of.

To kick things off from a sporting point of view, there were the European and World powerlifting events that she smashed, picking up titles and setting a world record in the process.

Once that was under her belt, she switched to winter sports – spending half a dozen years competing with the UK Armed Forces Skeleton Team, before switching to bobsleigh and becoming the top brakewoman in the Royal Navy.

She made her international GB Bobsleigh debut in January of last year – and is an absolutely brilliant guest to have on the podcast this week.

We talk about her experience in the military and her motivation to start taking fitness seriously; her powerlifting success and transitioning across to winter sports; why she’s proud to be an out woman in the Royal Navy; her goals for bobsleigh moving forward; and how she manages to switch off!

This is a great conversation with a fantastic guest that we think you’re really going to enjoy.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS?
@mel_haslam23
@The_BBSA
@RoyalNavy
@RNCompass

WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?
@jack_murley
jack.murley@bbc.co.uk

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