Nicola Minichiello born Nicola Gautier on March 21, 1978 is a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 bobsledder who has competed since 2001. She has won two medals in the two-woman event at the FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships

The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 winning a silver in (2005

FIBT World Championships 2005

The FIBT World Championships 2005 took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the fourth time, doing so previously in 1992 , 1996, and 2001 .-Two man:-Four man:-Two woman:-Men:-Women:...

) and making history with a gold in (2009

FIBT World Championships 2009

The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, 20 February to 1 March 2009 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York for the ninth time, doing so previously in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 , and...

) by becoming the first British female Bobsleigh Driver to win a World Championships.

Competing in three Winter Olympics, Minichiello earned her best finish of ninth in the two-woman event at Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 in 2006

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

. This was also the best ever Olympic result by a GB women’s bobsleigh team.

Nicola is supported through the Bromley Technologies 'Formula Ice 2010' project alongside skeleton bosleigh athletes Shelley Rudman

Shelley Rudman

Shelley Rudman is a British Olympic athlete. She won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in skeleton; the only medal for Great Britain at the games...

 and Kristan Bromley

Kristan Bromley

Kristan Bromley is a British skeleton racer who has competed since 1996. He won the gold medal in the men's event at the 2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany...

.

When not Bobsledding, Nicole works as a part time P.E. teacher and also works as an athlete mentor for the Youth Sport trust. It was announced on 10 August 2010 that Minichiello would miss the 2010-11 Bobsleigh World Cup, including the FIBT World Championships 2011

FIBT World Championships 2011

The FIBT World Championships 2011 takes place from 14 February 2011 until 27 February in Königssee, Germany for the fifth time, doing so previously in 1979, 1986, and 1990 , and 2004...

, to a knee injury.