‘You have to have a couple of screws loose to do what we do’: Meet Canada’s top bobsledders in new doc series
Here are 5 things we learned about bobsledding from documentary series Redemption Run
Thrilling. Punishing. Rugged. Like Formula One racing on ice, but without the big budgets, state-of-the-art equipment and corporate support, bobsleigh is one of the world’s most captivating sports. Athletes combine raw talent with fine precision and a healthy dose of fear to navigate icy tracks at speeds of up to 150 km/h.
The excitement of bobsleigh is captured in CBC’s three-part documentary series Redemption Run, which follows Canada’s top bobsledders as they prepare to compete on the world’s biggest stage in Cortina, Italy.
Bobsleigh was once one of Canada’s most successful winter sports. We won our first gold in a stunning upset at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, in Canada’s first-ever appearance in Olympic bobsleigh. Between 1998 and 2018, Canada won medals at every single Winter Olympic Games for bobsleigh because we had the best athletes and equipment.
But ever since the departure of some superstar competitors and after years of controversy, Canada’s bobsleigh program has struggled to return to its former glory days. But as Redemption Road shows, today’s sledders are still determined to prove themselves and bring home the hardware. Tensions are high and pressure is mounting.
Here are some of the most fascinating things we learned about bobsleigh on Redemption Run.
Bobsleigh is one of the most thrilling sports in the world
Bobsleigh is a high octane sport where athletes ride inside a 600-kilogram sled down a twisting ice pipe, enduring forces of up to five g. The smallest error can lead to a physical impact equivalent to a high-speed car crash. Top sledder Cynthia Appiah admits, “You have to have a couple of screws loose to do what we do.” The psychological burden is especially high for the pilots whose split second decisions determine the success or failure of the race and the safety of the crew. “If somebody gets injured because of something that I’m doing, that’s on me,” says sledder Pat Norton. “It’s a weight you have to carry.”
There can be gnarly injuries, from torn muscles to herniated disks and shattered femurs. During the 2010 Vancouver Olympics one sledder died during a practice run after hitting a steel post, raising significant safety concerns about the new Whistler sliding track, one of the most dangerous in the world.
Redemption Run captures a horrific accident involving bobsledder Pat Norton while training at the World Championships in Lake Placid. During the crash, his sled overturned, travelling down the track upside down, its full weight pressing against his head. The impact was so severe that his helmet was completely destroyed.
Bobsleigh is a ‘second career sport’ for many athletes
Many top bobsledders are recruited after reaching the end of their careers in other sports like pro football, hockey or track and field. “My dream was always playing NFL,” says top sledder Taylor Austin. “There was a point in my career when I realized it’s not gonna go too much further.” For many of them, bobsleigh is one last shot at Olympic greatness. “I spent a lot of years trying to shift my focus to something else, so when bobsleigh came around, I dug in both my heels pretty quick,” says Pat Norton, who previously competed in both hockey and soccer.
Other examples include Cynthia Appiah, a top female sledder who tried out for the London 2012 Olympics in shot put, and her rookie teammate Skylar Sieben, a former heptathlon athlete.
Bobsleigh is a sport where they can translate their raw power and speed into the athleticism needed to push a 600-kilogram sled.
Athletes pay a lot to participate
In Canada, sports funding is tied directly to results. As the team’s world rankings dropped, government support decreased and corporate sponsors dwindled. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is now so short of funds that the financial burden has shifted to the athletes. During the last season, each had to pay $45,000 out of pocket to cover the costs of touring and coaching. “This season’s basically bankrupt[ed] me,” says Appiah. The pressure is on to perform because each spot up on the leaderboard directly impacts the team’s future funding.
And sometimes that means that the athletes take unnecessary risks. Norton felt pressured to race after his traumatic crash at the Worlds because if he didn’t, his entire crew would have lost funding for the next season. “We’re either going all in or we’re bowing out,” he said. “Sometimes having the courage to even do that is the hard thing.”
Team dynamics are ‘cutthroat’
Bobsleigh teammates need to work closely together, but they are also competing for a spot in the top sled. It’s a challenging dynamic to navigate.
In Redemption Run, Austin casts aside his veteran crew for rookies just 13 months before the Olympics. “To have a new team this year is definitely risky,” he says. Some of Austin’s former teammates take the decision very personally and are highly motivated to prove that he made the wrong choice.
When Cynthia Appiah chooses rookie Skylar Sieban as her brakeman over her former partner Leah Walkeden, it leads to a bitter rivalry. “There’s a lot riding on this,” says Appiah, risking her last chance at an Olympic medal. “I really put a lot of eggs into the Skylar basket.” Walkeden ends up pairing with pilot Mackenzie Stewart and uses her explosive power to help her steadily climb the rankings. “Mac helped me … refind my love of bobsleigh,” said Walkeden, “and I think you succeed when you’re happy.”
In the end, professional success needs to take precedence over personal bonds. “This is not a ‘nice guy’ sport,” says brakeman Shaq Murray-Lawrence. “I’m on the winning train. I’m not on the friendship train.”
For Canada, bobsleigh is a battle of ‘grit vs. gadgets’
In bobsleigh, thousandths of a second matter, and the Canadian team are clear underdogs. While German teams can afford to build their sleds in BMW factories, Canadian sled mechanic Marty Mihnevics has to MacGyver their equipment using junkyard parts. He tells us that his tiny budget, $5,000, is a fraction of what it should be.
And this can also put safety at risk. Cyrus Gray’s team is forced to compete in an overused practice sled that malfunctions during a high-stakes race, leaving Gray to navigate with only one hand while using the other to manage the faulty equipment. “We bring it when we have to,” Gray admits. “We ain’t good enough for a good sled yet.” That malfunction followed a separate training crash just a week and a half earlier that had already damaged his team’s confidence.
If Team Canada is going to stand a chance against the high-tech and well-funded nations on the Olympic stage, it'll come down to their raw skill, strength and grit. But heading into Milano Cortina 2026, they’re determined to race and win a chance at redemption for their team.
Watch Redemption Run on CBC Gem.
