Coakwell returns to Games in bobsled

Ben Coakwell is going back to the Olympics, after a roughand-tumble experience the last time around.

The Saskatchewan-raised bobsledder, who grew up in Moose Jaw and played football for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, was formally named to the Canadian Olympic bobsled team Wednesday.

The veteran brakeman also competed at the 2014 Sochi Games, an experience that ended when his four-man team — which was a medal contender — flipped over. Three of those four riders — Coakwell, Jesse Lumsden and pilot Justin Kripps — have been named to Canada’s newest 18-person bobsled team, which will compete in South Korea.

Coakwell has immersed himself in the four-year cycle, and he’s glad to have come out the other end for a second time.

“It’s elite sport, right? There’s always a little bit of doubt,” Coakwell says of the difficulty of making an Olympic team. “There’s always a question. Anything can happen; someone could come along who’s really talented, there’s injuries, things like that. It’s been a long, four-year cycle.”

But now that he’s got his ticket, Coakwell says he knows what he’s getting into.

“The first time around, I was a little too young and naive to fully grasp the gravity of what is the Olympic Games,” said the 30-year-old Coakwell. “This time around, the importance level is a little bit higher for me. I’m seeing everything a little slower, I’d say.”

The squad has one other Saskatchewan connection: Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush, another former Huskies football player who competed at the 2010 and 2014 Games, is a team coach. Rush won a bronze medal in 2010.

Along with Coakwell, Saskatchewan’s Olympians include Emily Clark (Saskatoon, women’s hockey), Linden Vey (Wakaw, men’s hockey), Mark McMorris (Regina, men’s snowboard), Kali Christ (Regina, women’s speedskating), Marsha Hudey (White City, women’s speedskating) and Ben Hebert (Regina, men’s curling). The Olympic status of Humboldt-bred speedskater William Dutton was unknown at press time.

The Olympics will be held Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.