Photo credit: International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation

Ben Coakwell has an interesting way of explaining travelling in a bobsled going 150 km/h down a track. 

“It’s like if you’re inside a tin garbage can rolling down a hill, but that hill was also taking off in an airplane, so you’d get that feeling of take-off, but also the bumps while rolling down a hill,” he said. “Every time a new guy comes out. I want to watch. I want to be at the top or the bottom and see what the reaction is going to be. It’s insanity.” 

The Moose Jaw product is eager to attend his third Olympic Games as a member of Bobsleigh Canada, a journey assisted by the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence (SPAE), a grant that is supported by Sask Lotteries. Coakwell stars as the brakeman on Justin Kripps four-man bobsled team, which is in the midst of the 2021-22 Bobsleigh World Cup. Fresh off a bronze-medal finish at an event in Winterbeg, Germany, Coakwell is in good shape to qualify. 

Read the full story of Coakwell’s journey to this point in his career and his goals for Beijing at cheeronsask.ca.