Phylicia George testing out talents in bobsledding for Winter Olympics

Canadian Olympic sprinter Phylicia George has been testing her skills in a new sport this winter. 

The 29-year-old runner from Scarborough, Ont. has represented the country in two Olympic Games already: London and Rio. Now, according to a recent story by The Globe and Mail, she has chosen a winter sport and is getting set to don the Team Canada uniform in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Her new event? Bobsledding. 

According to The Globe report, the hurdler went through the first round of tests in Calgary but is training for the event in Whistler. She was approached to give the sport a shot by Kaillie Humphries– Canada’s two-time Olympic gold medallist in the bobsled.

George gave it a shot but she has also told media sources that on her first run down the ice covered bobsled track, she hated it!

She’s training to be the bobsled brakeman meaning that she is learning how to push, get used to the load of the sled and sitting in it correctly as it whips down the track. She has to run about 50 metres, making it an ideal job for a sprinter. 

Deuces ✌?️✌?️✌?️ #bobsleigh #myfirstslidedownatrack #olympics2018 pic.twitter.com/yZIa8J1NS4

— Phylicia George (@phyliciageorge) December 6, 2016

According to the CBC, George, who has been in track for 14 years now, had not considered being competitive in a winter sport. The Winter Olympics were simply not on her radar. She does intend to use this new bobsledding experience to go alongside her running as she will continue to be a track athlete until at least 2020.  

If all goes according to plan and she represents Canada in South Korea in 2018, it will be her fourth time finishing an Olympic event. Most recently, George finished eighth in the 100m hurdles in Rio and seventh in the women’s 4x100m.