IT was a sporting victory to make the country proud.

Amy Williams’ gold medal in the skeleton bob was a brilliant exhibition of skill and bravery – but Britain’s first Winter Olympics solo gold medal for 30 years also owes a debt to a team of Southampton engineers.

As Amy, 27, slid her way to victory in Canada in the early hours of Saturday, she had more than a little reason to be thankful for those who made her world-beating performance possible.

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Among those cheering her on track-side in Vancouver were James Roche and Rachel Blackburn, two postgraduate students at the University of Southampton who have played an integral part in her success.

The “tea tray” sled she calls Arthur, that propelled her down the ice at speeds of up to 89mph, and controversial grooved helmet – unsuccessfully challenged twice by opponents who claimed it gave an unfair aerodynamic advantage – were designed thanks to painstaking analysis in the university’s wind tunnel.

PhD students James and Rachel have spent the past three-and-a-half years working with governing bodies UK Sport and British Skeleton as part of a £2.1m bid to provide athletes with the best possible equipment.

Skeleton was recognised as an opportunity for Britain to get Olympic medals, despite there not being a single bobsled track in the country.

Thanks in part to the two graduates’ work using the latest computer analysis techniques to hone her kit, Amy was able to realise those dreams. She broke her own track record on the way to completing the four runs half a second faster than anyone else.

James and Rachel were handpicked for the roles by Dr Stephen Turnock, their tutor from the university’s school of engineering sciences. He recognised them not only as very promising engineers, but “dedicated to performing at their very best”. Last night, he told the Daily Echo of his pride at the project’s success. He said: “For young engineers to be pushed into that world and do so well, it’s brilliant.

“They’ve had a fairly integral role in the team. They have been out working on the day-to-day work at the Olympics, being there for that great experience.

“When they get back from the Olympics they have to start writing up their thesis, so from an academic point of view, the hard work starts there.”

But surely helping to win an Olympic gold will guarantee the pair top marks?

“It doesn’t quite work like that, but I’m sure it’ll count for something – it’s a vindication of the things they’ve been doing,” said Dr Turnock.