Alexandra Andrea Coomber (née Hamilton; born 28 December 1973) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

skeleton racer Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of ...

who competed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She won the bronze medal in the women's skeleton event at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, while competing with a broken wrist, having broken it in training 10 days prior to her race. Coomber, who married in 2000, holds many records for achievements in the field of skeleton, won the first British Championship she entered, and was unbeaten at all other British championships. She won the women's

Skeleton World Cup The Skeleton World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internatio ...

title three years in a row (1999–2000, 2000–1, 2001–2), a record listed in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. Coomber is the only British athlete to have won three winter world cup series. During her career, she set track records at

La Plagne La Plagne () is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise (Savoie). Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area. It is currently owned by Compagnie des Alpes. In 2014, La Plagne w ...

, Lake Placid, and Nagano. She had been an Intelligence Officer of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, and retired from competing in the skeleton in order to return to her previous profession. Coomber previously studied at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. Coomber also won a silver medal in the women's skeleton event at the 2001 FIBT World Championships in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coomber, Alex 1973 births Living people English female skeleton racers Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Sportspeople from Somerset Royal Air Force officers Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Skeleton racers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Women in the Royal Air Force Olympic skeleton racers of Great Britain Olympic medalists in skeleton People educated at Our Lady of Sion School Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Team Bath winter athletes