British bobsledder Tasker to miss Games after suffering stroke

LONDON: British bobsledder Bruce Tasker will miss next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics after suffering a minor stroke last week, Team GB said on Thursday.

The 30-year-old Welshman, who is being treated for groin and hip injuries at home, was taken to Wexham Park Hospital on January 4 after experiencing dizziness and nausea.Tasker was subsequently transferred to the stroke unit at High Wycombe Hospital on Saturday.

“I’m gutted not to be able to conclude the four-year cycle by going to the Olympics but I’m very grateful that I’m still fit and healthy,” Tasker, who, who was due to compete in his second Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, said in a statement.

“I’m set to make a 100 percent recovery and I already feel as though I’m most of the way there.”Tasker is expected to resume training next season.“We are desperately sorry for Bruce to lose his chance of becoming a two-time Olympian so close to the Pyeongchang 2018 Games,” Team GB Chef de Mission Mike Hay added.“Bruce is an outstanding person and athlete with proven leadership skills and was a hugely valued and popular member of Team GB in Sochi.”