Canadian Olympic bobsleigh hopefuls de Bruin, Bujnowski unfazed by China's Omicron surge

Christine de Bruin can't wait to travel to Beijing and compete at her second Olympics. The veteran bobsleigh pilot wants to show the world she and brakewoman Kristen Bujnowski are serious medal contenders for Canada.

De Bruin also wants to be in a city where she isn't concerned about contracting coronavirus.

"We did our [Olympic] test event in Beijing [in October] and it's the safest I've felt all season because we got tested constantly and there was a bubble [environment] there," de Bruin told CBC Sports over the phone recently ahead of the final Olympic qualifier and season-ending World Cup event in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

"They're doing everything they can [to contain the virus]."

Beijing reportedly will not adjust its COVID-19 prevention measures for the Olympics unless there are numerous cases inside the closed-loop bubble, in which participants can only leave if they are leaving China or undergo quarantine.

The emergence of the Omicron variant has resulted in some citywide lockdowns in a bid to limit outbreaks and prevent them from spreading to other parts of China.

WATCH | Canadian officials focused on health of potential Olympians:

De Bruin and Bujnowski are part of Canada's 18-member bobsleigh team for Beijing looking to build on its total of nine Olympic medals, including five gold. Four years ago, Canadians came through with a solid performance in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where they captured two-man gold and two-woman bronze.

For Bujnowski, who sat out last season because of COVID-19 restrictions after straining her right calf, this is her first time dealing with weekly testing in the bubble.

"It's very easy for it to become a distraction," she said of the virus. "The nicest thing about training and being at the track is I don't think about it. Being present in your sport takes you away from the worry."

De Bruin and Bujnowski managed to avoid illness during their Christmas break when a COVID-19 outbreak within the Canadian team led to 11 athletes and three staff members having to quarantine for 10 days starting on Boxing Day in Latvia ahead of a World Cup event in Sigulda.

However, there were some restless nights for the Canadian duo, who awaited a PCR test result after they were exposed to a teammate that tested positive.

"We think we lucked out a little because we did have some dinners together, but me and Kristen decided to go away [for the break] with our significant others," said de Bruin, who placed seventh with Melissa Lotholz at her first Olympics in 2018.

"We went to a different hotel and I think [when the others] were the most contagious we weren't there."

WATCH l De Bruin, Bujnowski earn World Cup bronze in Latvia:

With the Olympic opening ceremony in three weeks, de Bruin and Bujnowski no longer interact with other squads while team alternate Janine McCue is their lone dinner guest.

'We're taking the appropriate measures," said de Bruin, who plans to double and compete in women's monobob, which makes its Winter Games debut in China. "We're double masking now in airports, have hand sanitizer everywhere we go and getting tested [regularly]. That's helped ease my mind.

"As athletes we're always put in very high stress situations so I feel we can cope. We don't want [the virus] to overtake us and our performance."

WATCH l De Bruin captures monobob gold in Latvia:

Bujnowski, who served as an alternate at the 2018 Olympics, has found it difficult being separated from her boyfriend Josh Williamson, a brakeman with the United States team preparing for his Olympic debut.

Time in gym 'paying dividends'

"He's a five-minute drive away but I can't go hang out because I don't want to expose him to potentially anything I've been exposed to or expose my team to anything," said the 29-year-old from Mount Brydges, Ont. "The next couple of weeks it's important we prioritize getting to the Games. We have our whole lives together after this."

Unlike previous seasons on tour, the free-spirited de Bruin has limited her travel to see husband and pilot Ivo de Bruin, who failed to become the first Dutch bobsledder at the Olympics in eight years after missing the requirement in the two- and four-man events.

Graham Richardson, team manager and technical driver coach for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, noted some of the pre-pandemic distractions, including socializing with others, have disappeared this season.

"These girls have worked hard to make sure that as the balance has tipped towards being a bit more private," he said, "they've spent more time in the gym and thinking about training to fit the circumstances, and it definitely looks like it's paying dividends."

De Bruin placed fourth in the women's monobob overall rankings this season while she and Bujnowski were fourth in the two-woman world standings, trailing only American Elana Meyers Taylor and Germany's Laura Nolte and Kim Kalicki. Two-time Olympic champion and former Canadian team member Kaillie Humphries was fifth.

The two-time world bronze medallists earned four bronze in eight events on the World Cup this season since placing third at the Beijing test event.

"We understand some weeks we're not going to be the best and some weeks we're going to be great. It's one of the things that makes us a good team," said Bujnowski, who had a breakthrough 2018-19 campaign with de Bruin winning two World Cup silver medals before capturing world bronze.

"We're trying to have consistency in our races we can be proud of that I'm pretty sure will result in [an Olympic] medal.

"We get along and have a lot of respect for each other's abilities."

Richardson has noticed improved physical ability from the pair this season, including faster start times, while Bujnowski lowered the women's ice house push record in Calgary to 5.36 seconds from 5.39 before the Beijing test event.

"Christine had a tendency when running fast behind the sled to have a shorter stride length that would kill her velocity," Richardson said of the 32-year-old native of Stony Plain, Alta. "In her general training, she's worked at making sure the steps are more powerful. Her start times are getting better but, more importantly, the velocity's getting better.

"Christine knows when to get in the sled to let Buj accelerate. It's so technically difficult to get into the sled [to] add velocity, but working with Jamie McCartney, our push coach, they have improved a great deal.

"There's nobody they haven't beaten," continued Richardson, "so they're not going to have stage fright [at the Olympics]. Hopefully we can get into a secure, COVID-free bubble [in Beijing] and put that worry on the shelf so we can concentrate on performing and bringing [a medal] back to Canada."