Mackenzie Stewart and Leah Walkeden's bobsled ground to a halt in the Whistler Sliding Centre (WSC) finish area on Wednesday. They climbed out of their vehicle and were promptly mobbed by teammates.
There were bear hugs, tears and shouts of elation all around. Stewart and Walkeden had just pulled off the upset: one minute and 49.43 seconds for Canadian Championship gold.
Cynthia Appiah and Skylar Seiben were three-tenths of a second back in silver medal position, while Erica Voss and Morgan Ramsay clocked in for bronze (+0.36).
When asked about her feelings post-event, Stewart said: "Relief. There's some doubt when you're always at the back of the pushing pack [in terms of start speed]…but now I know I'm capable of what I thought I was as an athlete."
Taylor Austin, Shane Ort, Chris Ashley and Mark Zanette blew their fellow four-man squads away (1:45.50), but Patrick Norton backed his two-man victory with a runner-up result (+1.25) alongside Keaton Bruggeling, Luke Puto and Josh Langford. That left Jay Dearborn, Tobi Ade, D'Andre Clarke-Bastien and Kenny M'Pindou in third (+2.42).
"It was good," said Austin about his unit's performance. "First race of the season, first opportunity for the boys to feel the race day vibes. Obviously, we have our sights set on the World Cup season and then World Championships in March—trying to build momentum for next year and the Olympics [in 2026]."
Ashley added: "Knowing Taylor's one of the best pilots in the world makes me get out of bed. [We want to] step up to his level and give him the best push we can."
Last off the hill, first on the podium
Frankly, Stewart and Walkeden weren't expected to win.
Just look at the field: Appiah placed eighth twice at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Melissa Lotholz is a two-time Olympian who just defended her national monobob title. Bianca Ribi won a World Cup two years ago in Whistler and enjoys a tight relationship with her brakewoman Niamh Haughey.
Yet Appiah and Seiben were not especially close to the day's best time. Ribi and Haughey missed the podium in fourth, while Lotholz and Eden Wilson ended up fifth.
"We were the underdogs," remarked Walkeden. "I'll say it. We were the last off the hill. We had the least points, but we did a really good job today."
It didn't always feel good from the driver's seat, however. Stewart put her team into the lead after run no. 1, but made errors the second time down that she feared would be critical.
"There was a moment out of corner four where I was like: 'frick, I cannot let this snowball out of my hands,'" recalled the Sunshine Coast native. "And then we came out of corner 12 and I [told myself]: 'you idiot! Drive it!' But I was able in between those mistakes to bring it back—and still drove 14, 15 and 16 how I was supposed to."
Most seemed genuinely happy for Stewart and Walkeden as they cried and celebrated together. It's a level of camaraderie they cherish.
"The love [our teammates have for us] is the same amount of love and support that I have for them," Walkeden said. "I wanted everyone to do so good today. I cheered for all of the girls when they were pushing. You want to see your friends do well. It meant the world to me that everyone was so excited for us.
Walkeden then fought to hold back tears as she admitted: "Mackenzie helped me re-find my love of bobsledding. I had a really tough last few years, and she's such a good person. We're happy doing what we're doing, and I think you succeed when you're happy."
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) coach Justin Kripps, who won Olympic two-man gold in 2018 and four-man bronze in 2022, is happy for his protégés.
"I was really pumped to see Mackenzie and Leah put down a strong performance," he said. "Mackenzie was a little disappointed with her monobob result [on Tuesday], and Leah is not sliding with Cynthia anymore so she's looking to show what she can do."
A changing landscape
Folks familiar with the state of BCS know that things are very different now as compared to last decade, when Jesse Lumsden raced. As the organization's High-Performance Director, he understands it's difficult for Canadian bobsledders to fund their own 2024/25 campaigns—especially with an Olympic Games in 2026. In any case, he exhorts his people to take control of their own future rather than rely on the backing of past shareholders.
"We're definitely operating more like a startup," Lumsden remarked. "The landscape is changing for amateur sport in Canada…and I think the athletes are doing a good job developing some [new] skills and resilience. That's only going to help them on the ice. At [Canadian Championships] we've seen a lot of teamwork, collaboration and athletes lifting each other up. They're getting better every single day."
The women's unit is arguably deeper than its male counterpart—with pilots like Appiah, Lotholz and Ribi counted on to vie for World Cup top-15s and even medals. Rising prospects like Stewart and Voss (the latter of whom also took monobob silver) generate additional buzz, however, Lumsden thinks even the aforementioned veterans have yet to reach their ceiling.
Meanwhile, the men's unit has been in a rebuild since Kripps and four-time Olympic driver Chris Spring retired. Austin is now Canada's lead pilot, and his familiarity with the Lake Placid, N.Y. track (the next World Championships venue) may launch him onto a podium if his relatively inexperienced crew develops over the next few months.
Fellow pilots Dearborn and Cyrus Gray are brimming with latent potential. Kripps had this to say about mentoring them alongside other gifted youngsters like Seiben, Zanette and Langford: "We get focused on medals and that's important, but the journey is really a big part of the reward. If you focus on the process, the results take care of themselves. [You're] basically a professional tobogganer. It's an adventure."
Catch Team Canada back at the WSC for North American Cup races Nov. 22 to 29.
