Alex Coomber, Britain's Winter Olympic bronze medallist in the bone-crunching skeleton bobsleigh, will be the special guest speaker at the prestigious 2002 Daily Echo Hampshire business Awards gala dinner in June.

Alex gave the nation a reason to celebrate when she bravely won a bronze medal at this year's Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, despite nursing a broken arm. Alex had damaged the arm in training two weeks before her Olympic event, but had to conceal the injury in order to compete at the Games. Despite the handicap, Alex managed to secure Britain's only individual medal of the Games.

Having first competed in the skeleton only five years ago, Alex has already established herself at the top of her sport. She has been the World Cup champion for the past three years. She has a gold medal from the 2000 Goodwill Games and a silver medal from the 2001 World Championships in Calgary and has been the British champion since 1997.

Commenting on behalf of the KPMG Company of the Year, Tony Cottam, senior partner at KPMG's South Coast office, said: "Rising to the challenge, preparation and determination are all key aspects in any professional sporting event and correlate strongly to skills required in business. Alex is recognised as a leader in her sport and it will be a great opportunity for local businesses to share in her experiences. I'm very much looking forward to hearing of the challenges she faced and how she overcame them."

The skeleton is the most exciting form of bobsleigh. It involves travelling at speeds of up to 80mph headfirst down a mountainside on a tiny sled that looks remarkably like a tea tray. The sled, roughly 4ft in length, has no brakes and competitors must skilfully steer their way down the mile-long track of ice by transferring their body weight from side to side.

David d'Arcy Hughes, partner at law firm Bond Pearce, sponsor of the Business Innovation Award, said: "Everybody was in awe of the skill and courage that Alex displayed while competing in the Winter Olympics. It will be exciting to listen to her account of the events and how she coped with her injury.

"I am sure her story will inspire us all to achieve more."

Huge sporting talent is only part of her story however, as Alex, who lives in Somerset with her husband Eric, is also a graduate of Oxford University and a flight lieutenant with the RAF.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a gala dinner at The Vyne, Basingstoke, on June 27.

Michael ford