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Canada-3 bobsleigh team suffers frightening crash, ending Jesse Lumsden’s dream for now

andrew bucholtz

One of the scariest moments of the Sochi Olympics came during the four-man bobsleigh competition Saturday, with the Canada-3 sled of Justin Kripps, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell flipping during a turn and sliding down the track upside down. From the Associated Press:

Driver Justin Kripps, with three new brakemen in his sled, flipped on one of the curves on the Sanki Sliding Center track Saturday. The bobsled slid through several turns on its side with the team member's helmeted heads digging scarily into the ice. All four were checked by medical personnel as they climbed out of the sled, and none of the men appeared to be injured as they walked up the hill to the finish area.

Plenty of viewers were shocked by the crash:

The live crowd's reaction was one of support, though:

It's notable that the Canada-3 status here doesn't mean this was Canada's third-best squad. In fact, Canada-3 driver Justin Kripps turned in Canada's best finish in the two-man event (sixth), and he was performing the best in trials for the four-man. That led to a last-second change Friday, with Canada opting to put their top brakemen (Lumsden, Sorensen and Coakwell) with Kripps. Thus, this crash probably ends Canada's chances for a medal; through two of the four runs, Canada-2 (driven by Lyndon Rush) was 10th, and Canada-1 (driven by Chris Spring) was 13th. Russia-1, driven by two-man gold medalist Alexander Zubkov (and coached by former Canadian Olympian Pierre Lueders) was in the lead.

It's a tough break for a Canada-3 team that was doing particularly well, and it may be especially tough for Lumsden, who gave up a promising CFL career to focus on bobsleigh. He showed tons of promise over the past several years, and looked to have a real chance at a medal in Sochi. At least he and the other Canadians were able to walk away from the crash.