George takes big leap in athletic career
Phylicia George isn’ t crossing over f rom summer to winter sport on a whim. She isn’t dabbling. She won’t simply shrug if it doesn’t work out.
That’ s not how the 29- year- old, two- time Summer Olympian is wired.
The premier female Canadian sprint hurdler is stepping away from one track and speeding down another in a bobsled. Before she made the decision, before she packed up her life and moved to Calgary in September, she had to know that everyone who would most affect her success or lack thereof was dead serious about the venture.
Fortunately, her entry into bobsled was facilitated in large part by pilot Kaillie Humphries, as intense and serious an athlete as exists on the planet. She’s a two- time defending Olympic gold medallist in twowoman bobsled and is coming to Pyeong-Chang for a third title, make no mistake.
That helped George finalize her decision in November 2016, after spending a week in the sled in Whistler, B.C.
“In track, it’s 100 per cent me. I know I’m putting all the effort in,” said George. “Now I’m putting myself in a situation where I have to rely on someone else, so I definitely wanted to do it with someone who is serious, going for high performance and going for a medal, not just here to have fun.
“I’m a high- performance athlete. I’m dedicated and serious about what I do. Seeing that ( Humphries) is 100 per cent like that as well, I was like wow. And we’re just feeding off that. When two people come together and have that kind of energy, that’s exciting, where we’re both kind of bringing each other to greatness.”
It remains to be seen whether George will push Humphries’ sled and whether they will be great. But it was certainly Humphries’ hope as she went in search of a replacement for brakeman Heather Moyse, who retired after Sochi 2014. Moyes has since returned to the national team program, but made it clear she is interested only in mentoring somebody who hasn’t been to a Winter Olympics. Humphries may wind up doing the same thing.
“I was pretty much in search of the best brakemen Canada has to offer, to defend the Olympic title for a third time,” said Humphries. “I want to make sure that Canada is represented on the world stage with the best people and the best athletes that we have and Phylicia falls into that category.
“She’s an awesome athlete with endless potential. I honestly do feel that for us to compete against the Americans, having somebody who has been to an Olympics is an added bonus, but just as importantly, she is extremely strong, fast and explosive.”
It didn’t take l ong for those attributes to show themselves in the Ice House in Calgary, where sliding sport athletes train. In push testing earlier this month, George clocked in at 5.60 s econds, 5. 61 and 5. 59, among the top times in the group.
“As it stands right now, I’m very close to the girls who have been out here doing it for years and I’ve been doing it for three weeks,” George said earlier t his week. “I think everybody sees the amount of potential that I have and I’m sure once I get more reps in it will be good. I’ ll just keep my head down and work and the goal obviously is to be on the team and I definitely think that’s going to be a possibility.”
The only other brakemen to beat her best time, each with 5.47- second pushes, were Melissa Lotholz and Cynthia Appiah, both of whom have spent time in Humphries’ sled and could well end up there again. It will all get sorted out over the course of a World Cup season and after more push testing later in the season. George equates the situation with what she faced on athletics teams prior to major events.
“Like track, it’s a numbers game. So the way I’m looking at it is be the fastest and you’ll be on the team. It’s the same way I approach track; make standard, be the fastest.”
She needs the reps, so that pushing becomes natural and her entry into the sled becomes efficient. The technical aspects remind her of hurdling mechanics. And there’s another similarity.
“I love speed. I went down the track in Whistler, which is one of the fastest bobsled tracks out there. I think it definitely gave me a taste of what to expect. I love the thrill of it. In bobsled, very much like hurdles, you have to be fearless.”
Because it takes courage to leave what’s comfortable for what is challenging.