Author:  Frances Mitchell:  sister of Shelley-Ann Brown

Why Bobsleigh?

With excitement in my voice I've been telling people at work that my sister Shelley-Ann Brown made the Winter Olympic Team. Their reaction usually starts with "Wow, that's amazing", and then the question, "What sport?" The response that I get when I say Bobsleigh is always very funny.  They usually mention the movie "Cool Runnings" about the Jamaican bobsledding team and then the jokes begin.

If I had said Shelley-Ann was on the luge, or ski jumping team, or was participating in any other winter sport event for that matter, I believe the response would be the same.   People are generally surprised that black athletes can compete and even succeed at the Winter Olympic Games. 

Maybe it's because the perception is there that they don't like the cold and snow or maybe it's because they do not attend the games in significant numbers.  Of the 206 Canadian Olympians, only 4 are black athletes.  That's 2%.  Shelley-Ann is one of the two black females representing our country.  Many people may not have even watched the Winter Olympics in the past but I can assure you that with Shelley-Ann's participation and potential victory, more people will be watching bobsleigh and more black athletes may decide to participate and slide right on into future Winter Olympics.

I have recently discovered that should Shelley-Ann win a gold medal or any medal at this Winter Olympics, she will make Canadian history.  She will be the first black female Canadian athlete to win a medal at any Winter Olympics since they first started 86 years ago.* This is huge!!

As mentioned in my previous blogs, one of my favourite memories of Shelley-Ann in sport is a race she ran with her broken arm in a cast.  She won that race.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one keeping that race in my memory over the years. 

When Suzanne Gavine-Hlady started looking for a brakeman, her brother remembered Shelley-Ann in that one-armed race.  He told Suzanne, who made the connection through Face Book. At that time, Shelley-Ann was just making the decision to return to the University of Nebraska to complete her Masters. Since our parents have emphasized the importance of education, they were delighted that she chose to go back to school at the time. 

After leaving the Winter Olympics in Torino, Suzanne went to a track meet in Windsor where she met Dave Hunt who happened to be Shelley-Ann's old high school running coach.  After a brief conversation explaining that she was looking for a brakeman, Dave suggested that she give his former student a call.  It was then that Suzanne realized that Dave's student was the same person that her brother had recommended she contact many years before.

I've known Shelley-Ann to be a sprinter and hurdler but what I did not know is that she is built for this type of sport.   She has the speed, the strength and the explosive power required and has more muscle than I can imagine.

 She excelled in the testing camps in Calgary in 2009, which was an important element in the Olympic selection process.  The process includes power cleans, front squats, bench presses, and pushing a 145 kg sled in the Ice House from different positions.  I often joke with her that she could probably bench press me - how embarrassing the thought of your little sister being able to do such a thing!

Shelley-Ann's lifelong dream has been to represent Canada at the Olympics.  When she joins with her fellow athletes at the opening Ceremonies, proudly representing Canada and doing her best to bring home a medal, her dreams will be fulfilled!

*Editorial note: Kalyna Roberge was a member of the Canadian women's short track speed skating team that won a Silver Medal in the 3000 metre team relay at the 2006 Olympics in Torino.