Team GB’s Mica McNeill needs to be as far away from a bobsled as humanly possible after a draining Olympic campaign ended in disappointment.

The north-east pilot finished 17th in the two-woman competition alongside former sprinter Montell Douglas in Beijing.

McNeill fell well short of her aim of bettering the British record performance of eighth she achieved with Mica Moore at PyeongChang 2018.

Having fought fires and self-funded her way to the Games, the 28-year-old needs to take a big step back.

“I need a massive mental and physical break,” said McNeill.

“The two Games that I’ve been involved in, the lead-up has been a really difficult journey.

“The past four years has been a huge mountain to climb. A lot of ups and downs but probably more downs.

“I’m going to go away and reevaluate and who knows what the future holds.”

McNeill raced alongside Welsh shot putter Adele Nicoll for the majority of the World Cup season, the pair winning silver in Sigulda to qualify the sled for the Olympics.

Douglas was preferred when Olympic selection came around and the Brits posted a combined time of 4:08.85 across the four Olympic runs.

That was 4.89 seconds behind the leading time set by Germany’s Laura Nolte and 3.37 shy of a podium place.

McNeill and Douglas struggled on the first day of racing, but posted the 14th and 13th fastest times on the second day to climb up the rankings.

“We are happy with how we’ve come back,” said McNeill.

“Sport’s tough when it doesn’t go your way and you’ve got to come back and respond and we did.

“We made some changes overnight and it worked out. It’s very disappointing that we didn’t do it on the first day, who knows where we would be if we had.

“But we can walk away proud of the performance.”

Immediately after the race at Yanqing National Sliding Centre, history-maker Douglas announced she would be retiring from bobsleigh.

Having represented Team GB in the 100m and 4x100m on the track at Beijing 2008, she became the first woman to represent the nation at the Summer and Winter Games here.

“I’ve had the best time and a very long career,” said Douglas.

“I never say never but I want to make an impact in sport in a different kind of way and add value.

“I’ve led from the front and made a little bit of history myself to show that you can do anything you put your mind to.

“Maybe I will not be on the block with a helmet on in the very near future but I’m hoping to stay in sport in some capacity.”

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