Fresh off a World Cup silver medal in monobob, Canada’s Cynthia Appiah is feeling a deep sense of national pride after making it onto the podium.
“I think a lot of people are digging their heels into what it means to be a Canadian,” Appiah told CBC Sports.
“For me, that moment, I did it my way, which is the Canadian way: be fair, be nice, be a good compatriot with your fellow teammates, but also be a good competitor.”
In March, the 34-year-old from Toronto will compete at the world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“The ultimate goal is to be world champion. For the first time in my career, I fully believe that I have what it takes to be a world champion,” Appiah said. “To finish on that podium in second place by the thinnest of margins … it’s coming at the right time.”
WATCH l Appiah joins CBC Sports to discuss what’s next after World Cup silver:
CBC Sports’ Anastasia Bucsis talks with the Toronto native about her monobob silver medal in Lillehammer, Norway, and what’s next this season.
A win to fuel Olympic goals
With less than a year out from the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, the bobsledder has big goals to fuel her training.
In her Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, Appiah took eighth place in both the monobob and the two-woman events — a Games in which she says rookie mistakes led to her underwhelming results.
Gearing up for her second Olympics, Appiah says she will be a more “calm, cool and collected” version of herself.
“I thought I had the confidence because I had such a great World Cup season leading into the [2022] Games, but then I second guessed myself,” she said.
For Milan-Cortina 2026, 90 per cent of the venues are being reused. However, for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton, the host city is reconstructing the Eugenio Monti track where the events will take place.
While the $120 million US project is under a tight deadline to be completed, Appiah says that having a new track will level out the playing field for all competitors, giving no teams an advantage.
WATCH l Appiah reflects on reaching the World Cup podium in Lillehammer:
Two-time Olympian on how proud she is to represent Canada.
Italy aims to have the track ready for March 2025 to meet the homologation test deadline set by the International Olympic Committee, which is when a select group of athletes will test the track to ensure safety and usability.
“We’re hearing some positive and encouraging news that the track will be ready for our test event in October and that it will be more than ready for the Games in February, ” Appiah said.
“We’re being given hope that by the summer everything will be done.”
Funding issues persist
While the fight to receive more funding for Canadian athletes continues, some sports have a significantly larger price tag to compete in than others.
In the sport of bobsleigh, logistics costs often land on the athletes who need to transport heavy equipment to-and-from competitions around the globe.
Appiah says this year alone has cost her nearly $40,000.
At the World Cup this past weekend, Appiah used a loaner sled which she says is typically used for lower circuit races.
“Equipment is a huge thing in our sport. It’s like driving in a race car race and you’re in a Honda Civic and everyone’s in a Lamborghini,” Appiah said.
Next month at world championships, she plans to race in her own bobsled, which will provide her with even more confidence on the track.
“The world really is my oyster going into these world championships.”
Championing diversity, making history
Canadian bobsledders Cyrus Gray and Shaq Murray-Lawrence are also making waves in the sport.
Last week, the duo made history as the first Black pilot-brakeman duo to compete in a World Cup two-man bobsleigh race.
“This is inching closer and closer to what sport in Canada should be, where we’re championing the diversity within Canada,” she said.
“Canada has always prided itself on its multiculturalism, on its diversity, and now we’re seeing a Black male pilot take a stab at the World Cup circuit.
While Murray-Lawrence attended the Beijing 2022 Olympics as an alternate fourth man for the bobsled team, Milan-Cortina 2026 would be the pair’s first Games together if they qualify.
“My challenge to Canadians watching bobsleigh is to remember these names because they’re going to be the stars of tomorrow,” Appiah said.
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