Kripps announces retirement from bobsleigh amidst safety concerns and governance row in Canada

PyeongChang 2018 Olympic two-man champion Justin Kripps will not take the ice this season, hanging up his helmet after a 16-year career in the sport of bobsleigh.

The Canadian veteran announced his intention to retire earlier this week in a post on Instagram. He described his sliding career as his “greatest challenge,” while labeling it, “the most rewarding adventure of my life.”

Kripps made his Olympic debut as a brakeman at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Eight years on from competing on home ice, Kripps drove his way into a tie for the gold medal in the two-man event at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. The experienced slider added to his medal tally in Beijing 2022, picking up a bronze medal in the four-man event.

Originally deferring a decision on retirement until after the Games, Kripps decided it was time to move on to his next adventure. He told The Canadian Press, “I felt like I had accomplished more than I set out to.”

He continued, “I sort of had this realization that, now that I’ve done the four-man medal, and I’d done it with that team where we stayed [together] the four years, and it was such a Cinderella story, and then having a gold in the two-man, it was just kind of like: where’s the motivation going to come from to work as hard as I would have to for another four years?”

“I want to put that energy somewhere else,” said the veteran slider.

His decision to retire was also informed by safety concerns. Kripps commented, “you kind of realize as you get older that the sport is a little dangerous.”

He added, “I remember one of my pilot coaches years ago telling me, ‘You’ll know when it’s time to retire, because you’ll be thinking less about how to get down the track the fastest and thinking more about getting home safely.’” He admitted, “I kind of had those thoughts this year a little bit.”

Bobsleigh and skeleton have come under the microscope in recent years over concerns stemming from the long-term effects of head injuries sustained while practicing the sport.

Researchers have outlined concerns with the speed, gravitational forces, and crashes endured by sliders. A string of high profile deaths has also raised red flags.

Eugenio Monti, the namesake of the track favored to host the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, took his own life after a battle with Parkinson’s disease in 2003.

While the debate around safety in the sport rages on, another conflict over the treatment of sliders has emerged in Canada.

Early this year, a large collective of Canadian sliders called for the resignations of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) CEO Sarah Storey, and high performance director Chris Le Bihan.

Athlete safety, transparency and governance were singled out as major issues within the organization. Kripps commented on the allegations in an Instagram post earlier this year, stating, “the fundamental rules of governance are not being followed, and thus there is no one holding the leadership accountable.”

It’s unclear if the dispute played any role in his decision to retire.

Nonetheless, Canada will be forced to forge ahead without the veteran slider when the World Cup season gets underway at the Whistler Sliding Centre in November.