Olympic hopes all downhill from here
Brock student wants to represent Canada in bobsled after playing for Badgers in hockey, rugby
Short-handed and game-winning goals as a forward on the women’s hockey team.
Rookie of the year and Ontario University Athletic all-star honours as an outside powering her way to clutch tries on the rugby pitch.
Niamh Haughey has accomplished a lot in her four years as a student-athlete at Brock University.
But the 22-year-old physical education major wants to excel in another sport before she retires from competing at an elite level and pursues a career in firefighting. Her goal is to make the national bobsled team as a brakeman.
Right now, she is in Altenberg, Germany, where the national team is continuing preparations for the European Cup. Before the tour is completed in early February, the Canadians will have competed in Winterberg, Germany, and Innsbruck, Austria, site of the1964 and1976 Winter Olympics.
Haughey’s potential as a future Olympian was first identified two years ago at an RBC Training Ground combine. A recruiter invited her to try out for bobsled in the second part of the combine.
“I didn’t actually end up pursuing the sport until this year because I was competing on both the hockey and rugby varsity teams at Brock,” she wrote in an email from Altenberg.
That all changed in 2020 when COVID-19 cancelled all post-secondary sports in Canada.
“When I received the email to attend a bobsled tryout, I just leaped right at.”
Given that 201 km/h is the world-record speed for bobsled, Haughey was a little apprehensive before making her first rocket ride down an icecovered concrete track.
“As a brakeman, the role I play can be very straightforward — move the sled as fast as possible off the starting block.” NIAMH HAUGHEY CANADIAN NATIONAL BOBSLED TEAM HOPEFUL
“I kind of had the same anxious feeling as I would be if was about to get on a roller-coaster. You’re excited, but there is a part of you that doesn’t quite know what to expect,” she recalled.
Now that Haughey’s had several runs under her belt, she finds that there’s a “different feeling” at each track and they all pose “different challenges.”
“But as soon as you get to the bottom, the adrenalin is just incredible because of the G-force you experience while on the track.”
Modern tracks are 1,200 to 1,300 metres long with some curves that can subject crews to as much as five Gs.
Rugby players are ideal candidates to be the brakeman in bobsled, as the position requires brute strength.
“As a brakeman, the role I play can be very straightforward — move the sled as fast as possible off the starting block,” the fivefoot-seven Scarborough native said.
However, to do so with worldclass efficiency requires the right combination of strength and technique.
“Like any sport, your ability to put yourself into a biomedically effective position can be challenging. It is a skill I continue to work on daily,” Haughey said.
“The beginning of any track is where races are won and lost, along with the pilot’s ability to drive the track, of course, plays a huge role.
“We work together as a team, and try and put up some times on a run.”
Adrive to “be better than I was yesterday” is pushing her to excel in bobsled for Canada just as it did for hockey and rugby at Brock.
“I enjoy the process of pursuing something new, and then reaching the goals I set for myself,” the dual-sport athlete said of the motivation needed to add another sport. “The feeling of getting better each day, and seeing my teammates also get better, is something I see and experience every day.”
Haughey remains undecided about returning to Brock for a fifth year.
“I am still very much up in the air about going back to Brock
and completing my masters, and getting to also finish up my last year on both varsity teams.”
Eight tries in eight playoff games are among the highlights of her four seasons on the women’s rugby team. She also was selected as the conference’s top rookie in 2016 and was named to the all-star team three years later.
Brock women’s rugby head coach Mark Smerdon, who also coached Haughey at Rugby Development Canada, is impressed by the studentathlete’s “great work rate and work ethic.”
“She was well- respected by coaching staff and teammates alike,” he said. “I know she will do everything in her power to make the Olympic bobsled team. Whatever the outcome, we are all proud of what she already achieved and will be cheering her on.”
Haughey scored five goals in two seasons playing under women’s hockey head coach Margot Page. Each of the goals came at a critical point in a game.
Page isn’t surprised that Haughey is excelling at another sport.
“Niamh is one of the most well-rounded athletes I have
seen. She is extremely competitive, but has an amazing teamfirst attitude that makes her a coach’s dream at this level,” Page said.
This marks the second time a Brock rugby player has been recruited by Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, the sports’ national governing body. Physical education graduate David Greszczyszyn, class of 2002, was named to the national men’s skeleton team in 2008 and placed 21st overall at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Skeleton, or skeleton bobsled, is a sport in which a slider rides headfirst down a frozen track while lying face down.
The next Winter Games are tentatively scheduled to take place Feb. 4 to 20, 2022, in Beijing.
Germany is the leader in Olympic bobsled medals with 33, including 14 gold medals. Canada, with 17 medals, five gold; ranks third behind Switzerland, 19 medals, six gold.