Richard Shoebridge

Richard Shoebridge born 12th August 1985 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Has joint British and Canadian citizenship. He was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa until the age of 11, moved to Cambridge, Canada, and then aged 18 moved to Calgary, Canada for university until he was 24. Then went to Nottingham, England.

In his first season competing for Great Britain Richard, AKA Shoei, was part of the men’s relay team that broke the world record at the European World Cup and finished 4th in a World Cup. Sochi will however be Richard’s first Olympic Winter Games.

Richard’s father was himself a short track speed skater for the Solihull Mohawks, and passed his love of the sport onto Richard and his sister. Richard first tried skating aged just 5 at the club his father started and ran in South Africa, and continued to skate after his family moved to Ontario, Canada when he was 11. It was because of his father, who was British, that Richard wanted to return to the UK and compete for Great Britain.

Richard has had a solid start to his Sochi campaign with three top 14 finishes at the first two World Cups, as well as a bronze medal in the relay. In previous seasons, Richard has achieved top 8 rankings at several world cup events and finished 11th in the 1000m at the 2012 World Championships.

Outside of short track Richard is a keen cyclist and spends a lot of his free time out on his single speed bike. He is also a huge Chelsea supporter, and would probably argue that he is the biggest Chelsea fan on Team GB. Interestingly, his uncle Martin Shoebridge was part of the team that designed the original Laser Tag.