Greg Rutherford became Olympic long jump champion at London 2012, and could become the first British athlete to win medals at the Summer and Winter Olympics ©Getty Images

Greg Rutherford has been named in the British bobsleigh team for the forthcoming World Cup season as he looks to become the first athlete from his country to win both Summer and Winter Olympic medals.

The 34-year-old earned the men's long jump gold at London 2012, and followed it up with a bronze at Rio 2016.

Rutherford retired from athletics in 2018 following injury problems, but despite having no prior bobsleigh experience, began training with the British team in April.

In a post on Instagram, Rutherford confirmed that after taking part in trials, he has been selected for Britain's International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup squad.

The 2021-2022 World Cup circuit is due to begin in Innsbruck in Austria in November, with qualification spots for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games up for grabs through the course of the season.

Rutherford described his selection as "a massive milestone in my bobsleigh journey".

"This has been a huge undertaking, going from a very retired former athlete, to retraining in a new sport and qualifying for the team," he added.


"A massive thank you to everyone who’s helped thus far.

"We start competing in a couple of months' time with the medal dream very much alive."

Rutherford is to compete in the four-man event with a team piloted by Lamin Deen, as per the BBC.

Joel Fearon, who received an upgraded four-man bronze from Sochi 2014, Ben Simons and Toby Olubi also feature in the team, with another crew piloted by Brad Hall.

The team needs to finish in the top 12 in at least three of the seven qualifying events to reach Beijing 2022.

While he would be the first British athlete ever to win medals at both versions of the Olympic Games, team mate Fearon is from a sprinting background, and former 100-metre European champion James Dasaolu made his IBSF World Cup debut last season after switching to bobsleigh.

American Lauryn Williams also won silver in the women's 100m at Athens 2004 and gold in the women's 4x100m relay at London 2012, before clinching a two-woman bobsleigh silver at Sochi 2014.

At Tokyo 2020, won a silver medal as a member of the United States baseball team - seven years after clinching a speed skating silver at Pyeongchang 2018 in the 5,000m relay.