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<\/p>\nToronto athlete Shaquille Murray-Lawrence\u2019s path to the Olympics started in an entirely different sport \u2014 one that doesn\u2019t even exist in the Games. A professional football player in the CFL, it was his power and speed on the field as a running back that caught the eye of recruiters for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton in 2017.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a pipeline well-travelled now by quite a few CFL and NFL players \u2014 one that was forged, in Murray-Lawrence\u2019s eyes, by Jesse Lumsden. The former CFL athlete made the transition to bobsleigh back in 2010, competing in three Olympic Games.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be fast; you\u2019ve got to be strong,\u201d Murray-Lawrence says of the connection between the two sports. \u201cI do think the grit and the resilience that football players have makes it an easy transition for us for other sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heading into the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, this will be Murray-Lawrence\u2019s Olympic debut \u2014 the 32-year-old was named as an alternate on Team Canada for bobsleigh at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cI would say the theme of the last four years has been redemption,\u201d he says. \u201cI earned a spot on that roster [in 2022] and I was snubbed because politics and stuff got involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, more than 60 athletes signed a letter sent to the Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton\u2019s board of directors, calling for the resignation of the president and high performance director at the time. The letter addressed issues such as safety, transparency and governance, alleging that staff have made decisions on team selection based on biases.<\/p>\n
Murray-Lawrence, along with multiple other bobsledders of colour, have called out systemic racism<\/a> within the national bobsled organization.<\/p>\n The former CFL athlete says he decided to stick it out after the 2022 Olympics with one goal in mind: \u201cI had to make sure I was undoubtedly the best at my position for all four years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy coaches always told me, \u2018Don\u2019t make it close. If you make it close, you\u2019re leaving it up to chance,’\u201d he says. \u201cThat way, there\u2019s no chance of me being snubbed.\u201d<\/p>\n Murray-Lawrence was undoubtedly successful, securing a spot on both the two-man and four-man bobsled teams for the 2026 Olympics.<\/p>\n Name: Shaquille Murray-Lawrence<\/p>\n Hometown: Scarborough<\/p>\n Sport: Bobsleigh<\/p>\n First Olympic event: Feb. 16<\/a>, 2-man bobsleigh<\/p>\n Social channels: @shaqmlawrence<\/a><\/p>\n With his first event, two-man bobsleigh, just a few days away, he\u2019s staying focused. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to bring home some hardware; that\u2019s the ultimate goal. I think that would cement my athletic legacy,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve dominated in two different fields, one summer sport and one winter, so this would just cement everything I\u2019ve done and put in when it comes to my athletic career.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the results, he\u2019s fulfilling a dream he\u2019s had since he was a kid: \u201cI always knew I was born and destined to do something great in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n Murray-Lawrence says he was told by teachers to \u201chave a plan B,\u201d but he didn\u2019t listen. \u201cMy plan B was my plan A,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n When people talk about how dangerous winter Olympic sports are compared to the summer Olympics, it\u2019s often sports like bobsleigh that come to mind. Speeding down an ice track in a 600-kilogram sled at up to 150 km\/h, the threat of injury is high. It\u2019s an aspect of the sport covered in last month\u2019s three-part CBC documentary Redemption Run<\/a>, following Canada\u2019s bobsleigh athletes (including Murray-Lawrence) on the road to the Olympics.<\/p>\n But the bobsledder says the danger is just not something he can think too much about. \u201cThere\u2019s just not a lot that\u2019s in your control as a brakeman. Once you\u2019re done pushing, it\u2019s kind of between God and the pilot and Mother Nature.\u201d<\/p>\n Mindset-wise, Murray-Lawrence says football has more than prepared him for the world stage of the Olympics. \u201cGoing into every race, I just have to have that swagger, that attitude that I had on the football field. I may not fit into whatever typical mould people think of; I\u2019m from Scarborough, I wear it on my sleeve, proud of it, and I will not change for anyone,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that has helped me in this sport. I\u2019m able to just be free. You get on the block, and it\u2019s just you versus you.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be profiling more athletes during the 2026 Winter Olympics; refer here for future coverage.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n