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Christopher Spring

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Christopher Spring
Spring in 2021
Personal information
Born (1984-03-06) 6 March 1984 (age 40)
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight99 kg (218 lb)
Sport
Country Australia (2008–2010)
 Canada (2010–present)
SportBobsleigh
Achievements and titles
Olympic finalsVancouver 2010

Sochi 2014

Pyeonchang 2018

Beijing 2022

Christopher Spring (born 6 March 1984) is an Australian-Canadian 4 x Olympic bobsledder who has competed since 2008. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he competed for Australia in the two-man event. He switched allegiance to Canada later in 2010 and has since competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics for Canada.

Career

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Spring competed for Australia over three seasons and finished 29th in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2009 in Lake Placid. He later went on to finish 22nd in the two-man event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Since switching to represent Canada in 2010, Spring has won 9 world cup medals, including two gold and two crystal globes in both the two-man and four-man events. Spring has represented Canada 3 times at the Winter Olympic Games with a best result of 5th in the two-man competition with brakeman Jesse Lumsden.

Spring debuted on the World Cup tour for Canada in 2011, finishing 17th in the two-man event in Cesana, Italy.

He was involved in a catastrophic crash in January 2012 during the 2011–12 Bobsleigh World Cup in Altenberg, Germany, which put him in hospital for eight days.[1] After having his skin shredded and a piece of wood the size of a kitchen knife embedded in his back, Spring considered retiring but later returned to the track in April 2012.[1] He said of his fear of lost skills on his return, "I was really afraid I'd get back in the driver's seat and not know what to do. Or I would get halfway down the track and start freaking out." Yet he said that he felt few ill effects.[1]

In January 2022, Spring was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[2][3][4]

Career highlights

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World Championships
4th, 2019 – Whistler, two-man
FIBT (IBSF) World Cup Overall Season Championship
Third, 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) overall in the 2013–14 FIBT World Cup season, four-man
Third, 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) overall in the 2017–18 FIBT World Cup season two-man
Olympic Games
5th, 2014 - Sochi Winter Olympics, two-man

References

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  1. ^ a b c Steve Zemek (8 May 2012). "Spring relives crash horror". Gladstone Observer. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  2. ^ "21 bobsleigh and skeleton athletes nominated to represent Team Canada in Beijing". www.bobsleighcanadaskeleton.c. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  3. ^ Nichols, Paula (20 January 2022). "18 bobsleigh and 3 skeleton athletes to be on Team Canada at Beijing 2022". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ Smart, Zack (20 January 2022). "Kripps, de Bruin, Appiah headline formidable Canadian bobsleigh team at Beijing Games". www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
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