Two-time Olympian. Queenslander. Absolutely crushes it. We caught up with Jackie Narracott for a rapid-fire ten quick questions, quicker answers, and a glimpse behind the helmet.
Jackie Narracott is a retired Australian skeleton athlete and Winter Olympic trailblazer, celebrated as one of the nation’s greatest sliding sport stars. She made history by winning silver in women’s skeleton at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first Australian to medal in a sliding sport at the Games and securing Australia’s most memorable Winter podium moment. Jackie also earned Australia’s first World Cup skeleton gold in 2022 before retiring from competition in 2024 after an extraordinary career on the world stage.
We sat down with Jackie during the filming of our LIVE HARD campaign to get to know her more and the insane sport of Skeleton.
1. For the uninitiated: how do you explain the sport of skeleton to someone without sounding completely unhinged?
Off a running start, dive headfirst down an iced waterslide on a steel and fibreglass boogie board.
2. At what point in your life did you decide, “yeah, headfirst down an ice track at 140km/h feels like a solid plan?
In March 2012, curiosity got the better of me after seeing it while on tour with our bobsleigh team. I wasn’t fast enough to be a sprinter or big enough to be a bobsledder, but I desperately wanted to be an Olympian.
3. What’s the very last thought you have before you launch yourself down the track?
Smooth and have fun- it was the way I wanted to slide
4. What’s the biggest lie people believe about skeleton?
That we lie there and do nothing
5. What’s the toughest thing about being an Aussie in a winter sport that mostly lives on the other side of the world?
Aside from the financial aspect, being away from friends and family in a completely opposite timezone for so long.
6. How wrecked is your body after a full training week and what hurts that people wouldn’t expect?
Depends on the track, honestly. On the fast and technical tracks, you’re absolutely exhausted (and often bruised)! The parts that often hurt the most are your neck from trying to keep your face off the ice and brain from mental exhaustion.
7. Be honest: worst crash, biggest scare, or “I might rethink my life choices” moment?
Biggest scare: 2018/19 season. Concussion from hitting a bump in the track during the first 2 runs of the season in Oct turned into post-concussion syndrome by January. Walking around town made me feel drunk, and it took 6 months of rehab to be given medical clearance to slide again. I had to seriously contemplate retirement coz if I had symptoms during my return to slide, I was done.
8. What separates a good run from a great one; skill, courage, chaos, or blind commitment?
Skill, courage and commitment. There’s a fine line between doing too much or too little. The best runs feel effortless when you’re completely in sync with the track, steering only at the precise points you need to and letting the sled run as much as possible
9. Why do you keep coming back to a sport that is objectively terrifying?
Because it is so much fun and freeing!
10. Final one - what does living hard mean to you?
Living hard to me means unapologetically chasing your dreams and saying yes to the things that set your soul on fire, even if they scare you a little.
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