Eighteen months ago, Ashleigh Werner was preparing to make her Olympics debut in the bobsleigh at the Winter Games in Beijing.
This week she was announced as the newest member of the Brisbane Broncos NRLW team.
It’s been an eventful sporting journey for the 30-year-old from Double Bay, who only got her start in bobsleighing when, unbeknown to her, a friend sent a video of her sporting highlights in rugby 7s to an Olympics squad recruiter.
Australian bobsleigh athlete Ashleigh Werner has been signed to the Brisbane Broncos in 2023.Credit: IBSF/Shot of Guac Photography
“I had always wanted to go to the Olympics, that was my dream since I was four years old, but never did I ever think that it would be a possibility in a winter sport. It just never even crossed my mind,” Werner said.
“A friend of mine said, ‘Hey, the Australian bobsleigh team has asked us to test data sets, and I sent them some videos of you, and they’ve asked if you wanted to come’.”
“I had no idea what we were doing, and it turned out to be a bunch of lifting in the gym and some sprint work. And they were like, ‘Hey, congratulations you’ve made the team’, and I said, ‘What team’? And they said, ‘The Australian team, these were national trials’.”
Three weeks later Werner was on a plane to Whistler, Canada, to train with the Australian team despite never stepping foot in a bobsleigh. The first time she got into a two-person bobsleigh they crashed at 140 kilometres an hour and Werner broke her collarbone and tore her rotator cuff.
But after that initial setback she learned to her surprise that rugby had given her many skills that transferred across to bobsleigh.
“I was used to getting beat up a little bit. Bobsleigh in its essence is a contact sport. You’ve got a lot of g-force which puts a lot of strain on the body – if you don’t have a clean run you’re knocking walls, and I think the general robustness of rugby helped me transfer into bobsleigh,” Werner said.
Ashleigh Werner and Kiara Reddingius in the two-women bobsled World Cup race in Austria in 2021.Credit: AP
After two years of hard work, Werner qualified for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, but the bobsleigh federation decided not to send her. Four years later, she qualified for Beijing 2022, but just before the final race of the year she got COVID-19 and wasn’t allowed to compete, making her ineligible to go.
“It’s very hard to put into words missing out on two Olympic Games in a row. Especially when you’re a completely self-funded, self-managed athlete and team because I just gave my entire life to the last six years,” Werner said.
“There are no words for how devastating it was to be that close to an Olympic Games … but everything happens for a reason, and if you believe that you’ll find the reason, and I definitely feel like the opportunity with rugby league has been a real silver lining for me.”
Wanting to take some time away from the ice, Werner returned to footy. After a family friend introduced her to the Wests Tigers, she found herself back on the field.
Werner debuted for the Tigers in their Harvey Norman women’s premiership team this year, playing on the wing.
“It’s been a pretty amazing journey, the Tigers have been nothing short of phenomenal with me… Everyone has welcomed me with open arms, was so caring and kind and just wanted me to be the best that I could be,” Werner said.
Which is why the decision to take up and NRLW position with the Brisbane Broncos, rather than the Wests Tigers who are in their debut year, was so difficult said Werner.
After a hectic few years, Werner said a change of scenery was in order, and it didn’t mean she wouldn’t return to Leichhardt one day, or bobsleigh for that matter.
But after spending the past six years in cold, snowy climates, setting herself up in the sunshine state was very appealing.
