Lumsden hopes bobsled will take him to podium

Former CFLer and Burlington native Jesse Lumsden will compete in the Olympic two man bobsled competition on Sunday with pilot Chris Spring.

Lumsden and his former partner Lynden Rush finished fifth in Vancouver in both the two and four 4 man races. This time Lumsden says he’s ready to take his place on the podium.

He has a message for everyone here in Canada who will be cheering for him from afar: “Be loud. Just like Vancouver, except you need to be a lot louder because we’re a lot further away.”

Lumsden & his pilot Chris Spring are ranked ninth in the world for the two man bobsled competition, and with teammates Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell, they are ranked fifth in the four man. But Lumsden says rankings don’t mean much at the Olympics, because everyone will bring their ‘A’ game.

“The margins are so tight, people are playing for keeps. If anything, it’s gonna be exciting at Sochi because of how tight the playing field is.”

Just how tough is the competition among international bobsled teams? Eleven different teams finished on the podium in the three World Cup races that took place before Christmas.

“And if we continue on the path that we’re on, performing the way we can and have our equipment run the way it’s been running, we show up on that day at our best and we will be tough to beat.”

“I’m performing at the highest level I’ve ever performed at in this sport, so I feel very strong in my position.”

The opening heats for the two man bobsled competition begin at 11:15 EST on Sunday morning, and the finals run on Monday morning.