Canada's Chris Spring, 4-time Olympic bobsleigh pilot, retires from competition
Veteran who gained citizenship in 2013 won 2-man World Cup gold in '16, '17
Veteran Canadian bobsleigh pilot Chris Spring has announced his retirement, ending a career that included nine World Cup medals and four Olympic appearances.
Spring's career highlights include back-to-back World Cup gold in the two-man bobsleigh at Whistler, B.C. (2016, 2017).
He added a sliver and two bronze in two-man bobsleigh and four bronze piloting a four-man sled over his World Cup career. He finished third overall in two-man over the 2017-18 season, with teammate Justin Kripps finishing first.
Spring's best Olympic result was fifth in the two-man competition at the 2014 Sochi Games.
He drove a four-man crew to ninth last year in Beijing.
WATCH | Spring appreciates Olympic experiences:
Spring, 39, started his career with Australia, his birth country, and competed for that country at the 2010 Vancouver Games before switching his allegiance to Canada in 2011.
The Calgary-based bobsledder received his Canadian citizenship on Canada Day in 2013, making him eligible to drive two- and four-man sleds for his new country at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Olympics.
"I'm still so very passionate about bobsleigh. I never knew that I could love a sport so much," Spring said in a release. "The hype with the team and pushing that sled off the line, coupled with driving a bobsleigh and manipulating it to achieve the exact line, gave me a feeling that I often wonder if I will ever find somewhere else in life.
"That feeling was like an addiction for me, and perhaps the reason why I stayed in the sport so long. However, the time has come to follow many other passions I have in life."
Early-career injury
Spring's career was almost cut short early when he was seriously injured in a crash at Altenberg, Germany, during the 2011-12 season. He was airlifted to hospital in Dresden where he received 18 staples to close a wound to his buttocks and upper leg and remained there for eight days.
Ten months later, he piloted a four-man sled to a bronze medal at the 2012 Whistler World Cup event.
"What happened in Altenberg was something I don't wish upon anyone," Spring said. "It was a real struggle, something that I struggled with every day of my career.
"For a long time, I battled with dealing with that crash and getting over it, but I got to a place where I welcomed the fear that crept in every now and again to remind myself that what we're doing here is dangerous, but also very special."
