Toby Olubi
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 24 September 1987 |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Sport | Bobsleigh |
Toby Olubi (born 24 September 1987) is a British bobsledder. He competed in the four-man event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Prior to appearing at the Olympics, he won £12,000 on the television game show Deal or No Deal.
In May 2023, Olubi was named "Phantom", as one of the new Gladiators in the highly successful reboot of the television series of the same name broadcasting on BBC One from January 2024.
Life and career[edit]
Olubi was born on 24 September 1987[1] in a council estate in Camberwell[2] and attended Bacon's College, Saint Francis Xavier College, and Brunel University London,[3] where he read economics and politics.[4] He was initially a sprinter, but did not progress further than county level, and took up bobsledding after being invited for trials[2] due to his 6ft 4in, 112kg frame.[4] He joined Team GB's bobsled team in June 2013,[1] and was coached by Lee Johnston.[5] In 2014, Olubi made a formal complaint against Johnston[6] for telling him that "black drivers do not make good bobsleigh drivers"[7] shortly after he began training.[8]
Much of Olubi's salary was paid by UK Sport and the National Lottery and by a post as a secondary school supply teacher. In 2016, after finding that his salary wasn't enough for him to train five days a week, he applied for various British game shows.[4] He appeared on an episode of The Cube, where he lost £10,000 after failing on the fourth task, before winning £12,000 on Deal or No Deal.[9] He also appeared on Can't Touch This,[10] a game show in which all contestants are shot out of a catapult and navigate an assault course;[11] he told PA Media in 2018 that he had been "shot out of a cannon" on the programme, and described himself as a "human cannonball".[12]
Olubi attempted to contest the 2014 Winter Olympics, but had to pull out after suffering a serious injury,[9] and also missed the 2015–16 Bobsleigh World Cup through injury. He and Brad Hall contested the 2017–18 Bobsleigh World Cup, but was disqualified after he fell off and completed the course on foot.[5] He then contested the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he, Lamin Deen, Andrew Matthews, and Ben Simons came 18th.[1] He also appeared on ITV's The Big Audition[13] and the Discovery+ dating show Written in the Stars.[14] In May 2023, he was named "Phantom", as one of the new Gladiators in the television series of the same name,[15] which began broadcasting on BBC One from January 2024[16] and was watched by six million viewers.[17]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Toby Olubi". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Camberwell bobsleigher Toby Olubi finally reaches Olympic dream to compete at Pyeongchang". Southwark News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Winter Olympics bobsleigh hopefull will pay his way to 2018 games with TV game show winnings". Southwark News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Micklethwaite, Jamie (18 March 2016). "London bobsleigh athlete explains challenges of training without snow". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b Payne, Marissa (27 November 2021). "After nasty crash, bobsled team disqualified for finishing two-man race with one man". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Lamin Deen backs Lee Johnston as head coach despite racist comment". BBC Sport. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Ingle, Sean; Ingle, Exclusive by Sean (9 October 2017). "British Bobsleigh's head coach said 'black drivers do not make good bobsleigh drivers'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "How Deal or No Deal funded Toby Olubi, Britain's bobsleigh hopeful". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ a b Ward, Victoria (12 February 2018). "British bobsleigh athlete turned to game shows in bid to fund training". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "The Olympian who went on loads of TV game shows to fund his dream". BBC Three. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Beattie, Jilly (25 March 2016). "Brilliant new TV game show Can't Touch This filmed in the heart of Belfast". Belfast Live. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Human cannonball Toby Olubi turns focus to bobsleigh duties in Pyeongchang". Hampshire Chronicle. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Camberwell Olympian Toby Olubi racks up another TV appearance in search of 'bobsleigh redemption' after Pyeongchang". Southwark News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Ren (24 July 2023). "全新約會實境秀《星座情人》！雙子女巨蟹男其實很合、金牛女與水瓶男真沒火花？". Marie Claire 美麗佳人 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Final Gladiators Bionic, Electro, Phantom and Viper revealed". BBC Media Centre. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Who is Phantom? Gladiators 2024 star and British bobsledder". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Gladiators BBC: Release date, cast and hosts for reboot". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
External links[edit]
- Toby Olubi at IBSF
- Toby Olubi at Olympedia
