Wycombe Abbey Seniors on the Cresta Run

Photo Credit: Melissa Michel

It is very exciting to see women, and among them, several Wycombe Abbey Seniors, taking part and competing again on the world-famous Cresta Run – a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track, recreated annually since 1885 in St Moritz, Switzerland, on which riders achieve speeds of up to and over 70 miles per hour. 

Whilst several brave women had ridden the Cresta Run in its early days, including Lorna Robertson (later Lady Laura Fairburn) who was the first woman to earn her colours and come in the first eight in a major race; in the 1920s it was decided that women could no longer ride for safety reasons. The rule banning women from competing on the Cresta Run was not repealed until 2017.

In the 2022 – 2023 season just finished, women really came into their own at the Cresta, with Wycombe women playing a strong part. Senior Alexandra Bott (C255, Cloister, 2007), who comes from a longstanding and distinguished Cresta family, has been riding for several seasons and confidently beat her own best times this year.  Eleanor Livingstone (C353, Rubens, 2022) paid a brief visit from university and took to riding the Cresta with aplomb. Delphi Primrose (C347, Airlie, 2022) worked in the shop at the Cresta Run and learned to ride the Cresta for the first time this season.

Alice Lloyd (C353, Rubens, 2022) became the first ever Tower Girl (previously this has been a role only assigned to young men). Over the season, Alice took the opportunity to ride the Cresta as much as possible eventually joining the riding elite by becoming the 12th woman to ride from Top in the modern era and on the penultimate day of the season, chasing the leading woman in the Lorna Robertson Cup from Junction, coming in second place by only 8/100ths of a second. 

We are very proud of our Wycombe Abbey Seniors who are making history as female competitors in the Cresta Run.


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