Thirty-five athletes have been officially named to this year's Canadian bobsled roster. The group will fill 10 sleds piloted by six women and four men.
Two-time national monobob champ Melissa Lotholz and Beijing 2022 Olympian Cynthia Appiah are bound directly for World Cup action. Lotholz's brakewoman is her former University of Alberta track teammate Leah Walkeden, and Appiah's new partner is ex-heptathlete Skylar Sieben.
Bianca Ribi is the third of Canada's veteran female drivers, and she knows well her backseater Niamh Haughey. They will kick off their season on the North American Cup (NAC) before joining the World Cup in January.
Should any injuries or unexpected developments occur, Amanda MacCarthy is on deck as World Cup alternate.
The rest of the ladies' team will exclusively race at the NAC level.
Onetime ringette player Erica Voss won two medals at the recent Canadian Championships, and she'll be riding with former competitive show jumper Eden Wilson. Mackenzie Stewart netted two-woman gold at Nationals alongside Walkeden, but finds herself paired with Morgan Ramsay going forward. That leaves Kristen Bujnowski with newcomer Charlotte Ross on her brakes.
“Our team has gone through some challenging times since Beijing 2022, with this season being the most difficult [financially] However, there’s a massive bright spot in our future, with the huge turnout of returning athletes and new recruits that we’ve had over the summer who have now joined our program,” Appiah says in a press release. “The last few weeks in Whistler have been encouraging. The recruits have all been eager to get in the sled and learned the ropes of the sled.
"There’s a breath of fresh air that’s finally been injected into our program, and you can see the excitement in everyone’s eyes on the team. This is an important season for us, and I know we’re ready to prove to the world that Team Canada is back.”
Men's lineup
Taylor Austin is unquestionably Canada's lead pilot here. After securing four-man World Cup bronze in Whistler two years ago, he'll re-enter the fray with returning talent Shane Ohrt and Chris Ashley as well as rookies Mark Zanette and Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson in his stable. Austin's unit will get started on the NAC circuit before heading to the World Cup in early 2025.
Zanette, like Voss, is an RBC Training Ground alum, while Eskrick-Parkinson previously represented Jamaica in diving before retired five-time Olympian Lascelles Brown encouraged him to try a new sport.
Patrick Norton carries upward momentum into the season after besting Austin for Nationals two-man gold. He'll be leaning on ex-hockey player Mike Evelyn, Ottawa Redblacks receiver Keaton Bruggeling, Luke Puto and Josh Langford to push.
Meanwhile, ex-Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Jay Dearborn will drive brakemen Kenny M'Pindou, Tobi Ade, Brandon Loewen and D'andre Clarke-Bastien during NAC competition. Dearborn's fellow developmental pilot Cyrus Gray is backed by Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, Chris Holmstead, Davidson de Souza and Cesar de Guzman.
“We are now less than 15 months away from the big dance, [the Olympics]. As a program, we have clear goals for where we should be by the end of the season, and we are focused on the process to get there,” says Murray-Lawrence in a release. “With many new recruits on the team, it is up to the veterans to clarify the mission and help the newer athletes get up to speed. As a men’s program, it is time to deliver.”
Added Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) High-Performance Director Jesse Lumsden, himself a CFL alum and three-time Olympian: "Over the last three seasons, Cynthia, Melissa, Bianca, Taylor and Pat along with their crews have proven that a new generation of Canadian bobsledders have arrived and are ready to carry the torch for our program on the track to 2026 and beyond."
