Robbie Fowler fails to land The Jump becoming third person to leave

19 February 2017

Tonight the twelve remaining competitors battled it out in the nerve-shredding Skeleton. Launching themselves onto a heavy metal sleds, they raced face-first down a twisting ice track with their chin just millimetres from the ice. This event is won and lost by fractions of a second and going head to head, paired based on their training times, means the tiniest mistake could see the competitors come face-to-face with The Jump eliminator.

Race One: Sir Bradley Wiggins v Louis Smith

While Bradley found training frustrating at the start and struggled to keep control, Louis was a natural loving the sport from the off. But with each run Britain’s most decorated Olympian took on board the coaching points putting him back in the game. This race was Olympian verses Olympian and it was too close to call on who would come out on top.

Bradley had a smooth run taking only a few knocks and reaching a speed of over 90kmph, Louis got off to a strong start and at the half way point was just 00.04secs behind Bradley, he couldn’t quite catch up though making him the first competitor of the night to face The Jump.

 

Sir Bradley Wiggins	44.28secs	WINNER
Louis Smith	45.43secs

Race Two: Spencer Matthews v Amy Willerton

Spencer was ready for this event, straight away using his feet to steer the sled but he knew when he was paired up with Amy she could have the edge as she’s much smaller than him. Amy however, was terrified and took some big knocks before crashing on the final corner during training knocking her confidence which could give Spencer back the edge he needed.

Amy showed what she was made of, getting back on the sled digging deep to try and beat the Chelsea boy. She took a tough run looking like she might come off the sled but stayed on to the end. Spencer took a running start giving him speed from the beginning, but it’s tough to keep it up the whole way down. However, Spencer had a clean finish, taking the win and sending Amy to The Jump.

 

Spencer Matthews	44.71secs	WINNER
Amy Willerton	48.67secs

Race Three: Jason Robinson v Robbie Fowler

Jason was quick on the rugby field and he was pretty speedy down the Skeleton course. He may have been ‘Fall over Fowler’ in last weeks Snow Cross, but Robbie was determined to get the better of the Skeleton on day one of training, with no nerves before his first run. Despite a strong and relaxed start he went too high on a corner and came off the sled but this wasn’t going to put the Liverpool footballer off and he headed straight off to try again.

Jason was more nervous than at the Rugby World Cup final, but all he needed to do was hold on for 45seconds. He was off to a good push start with an impressive time of 20.30secs at the half way point, giving the former England Rugby International a strong chance of avoiding The Jump. Robbie lacked control from the start but rescued it before struggling at the corners, he needed to find more speed if he was going to win the race but he couldn’t quite do it finishing just behind Jason meaning he’d jump for the first time in the series.

 

Jason Robinson	45.20secs	WINNER
Robbie Fowler	46.46secs

After losing their Skeleton head to head races Louis Smith, Amy Willerton and Robbie Fowler all headed to the top of The Jump to fight for their place in the competition. Up first and jumping for the first time in the series was Louis, everything looked good in training but could he pull it off in the show. With a strong, stable jump Louis flew a very impressive 16.58m, leaving Amy needing to pull a big jump out of the bag to stay in the show. Having jumped twice already in the series Amy knew what she was doing but couldn’t quite match Louis and landed 13.10m. After a fall in training, the pressure was on Robbie to land this jump well. It wasn’t to be though and he crashed on the outrun, getting up unscathed but giving him a No Jump.

Race Four: Lydia Bright v Gareth Thomas

After a sleepless night ahead of starting training, Lydia was not looking forward to getting on the sled and didn’t get off to a great start. Gareth was equally as terrified of the Skeleton, feeling claustrophobic in the helmet before he even hit the course. Would the small girl from TOWIE and the big man from Wales be able to beat their fears and make it down the ice course?

Lydia got away well, trying to stay straight and talking herself down the run reaching 95.76kmph. She bagged an impressive time to hopefully send the rugby player to The Jump. Gareth was off to a cautious start but managed the fasted time of the day on the first half of the course and despite a few wobbles corrected himself winning the race and sending Lydia to The Jump.

 

Lydia Bright	45.36secs
Gareth Thomas	43.83secs	WINNER

Race Five: Emma Parker-Bowles v Caprice Bourret

This event was not for Caprice but she was determined to put mind over matter, and kept getting back on to try again. Emma was more excited about the Skeleton than any other event, but she struggled coming off the sled in training. Emma didn’t want to let the Skeleton get the better of her and got back into it but at the same corner she came off again. Despite getting up and walking away as she had two crashes Emma wasn’t cleared to race and so would face The Jump.

 

Emma Parker-Bowles	No race
Caprice	48.58secs	WINNER

Race Six: Kadeena Cox v Jade Jones

This event was one of the main reasons Kadeena signed up to The Jump. Having tried out for the British Skeleton team before her stroke, this is her chance to prove she would have been good at the sport. She had a strong start in training and was determined to give it her all and master the event. Jade was nervous and needed to channel the aggression she has in the Taekwondo ring onto the ice. She didn’t get a good start and had work to do if she wanted to beat Kadeena.

Kadeena took a sprint start giving her more speed from the beginning, she meant business and kept a clean line down the course giving her a great time down the track. Jade needed to draw on her inner Olympian to beat Kadeena, she seemed totally in control and focussed as she raced down the ice making it a very close contest as she reached 99.76kph – the fasted speed of the day – giving her the win and seeing Kadeena face The Jump.

Kadeena Cox	44.60secs
Jade Jones	43.73secs	WINNER

If the three remaining jumpers managed to land successfully, Robbie would be out following his No Jump earlier in the show. Lydia Bright, Emma Parker-Bowles and Kadeena Cox all knew what they had to do to stay in the competition. Emma was up first with a good jump in challenging and foggy conditions, landing 10.93m. Lydia was up next with her first appearance on the ski jump, she looked nervous but pulled it off with a distance of 11.50m. No one wants to see anyone fall on The Jump, but for Robbie if Kadeena managed to land strong he would be going home tonight. Kadeena had it all to play for and landed safely falling just after the end line meaning her jump of 13.48m counted, knocking Robbie out of the competition.

Robbie said: I have absolutely loved this, it’s been a wonderful experience. I wish I’d stayed a bit longer but look these guys are all fantastic and you know what they’re all much better than me so they all deserve to be here.

The Jump returns next Sunday at 7:30pm on Channel 4 when the remaining competitors will take on Ski Cross.

For further information and interviews with the competitors, please contact: 

Samantha Fraser / 07720 497 399 / sfraser@channel4.co.uk 

Kate Conway / 020 7306 3751 / kconway@channel4.co.uk

For pictures, please go to: www.channel4.com/info/press  

For clips, please go to: www.youtube.com/channel4

About Skeleton

In this nerve-shredding event, competitors launch themselves onto a heavy metal sled and race face-first down a twisting ice track. With their chin just millimetres from the ice, and races won and lost by fractions of a second, the tiniest mistake could see our competitors come face-to-face with the eliminator event.