Montell Douglas – Keynote Speaker

Montell Douglas was the first British woman to compete at both a Summer and Winter Olympics. An incredibly driven and resilient individual, Montell overcame multiple injuries during the course of her athletics and bobsleigh career, proving that anything is achievable with the right mindset.

Montell’s athletics career took off when she broke a 27 year old record in the 100m to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. There she competed in the individual 100m and an extraordinary 4 x 100m relay final.

Having announced her retirement from athletics in 2011, Montell turned her focus to coaching and mentoring, something she has continued ever since, driven by her passion for enabling the next generation.

Montell Douglas was pursued by GB bobsleigh and in 2016 she accepted their invitation to try out. Her natural athleticism and adaptability saw her set the highest score ever recorded in testing and she went on to achieve a European Gold and reach top 10 in the World rankings.

At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Montell Douglas competed in the 2-women bobsleigh event and history was made as she became the first British female athlete to compete at both a summer and winter Olympics. She has since recorded a career high 4th at the Altenberg World Cup in 2019 and now has two World Championship appearances to her name.

Now retired for a second time, Montell works a full time corporate job in addition to her athletics coaching and development commitments, motivational speaking and advocating for women’s sport.