Canadian bobsledder Cynthia Appiah returns to shot put roots, in 'incredible' shape

Cynthia Appiah was watching the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in February when the conversation between her and Canadian record holder Sarah Mitton shifted to a potential return to shot put.

Mitton was disappointed Appiah didn't attend a planned summer of throw training a year ago after she finished a full bobsled/monobob season.

"It was almost a guilt trip," Appiah recalled in an interview with CBC Sports. "I felt I had to come back because I had been talking about it for so many years."

Appiah followed through in April after finishing third in the overall World Cup monobob standings, collecting a silver and four bronze medals over eight races. She also earned three silver medals in two-women bobsleigh.

Appiah has long admired the athletic ability of Welsh shot putter Adelé Nicoll, an alternate member of the Great Britain bobsleigh team at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 before she returned to win shot put gold at her national championship last June. The 26-year-old also placed eighth at the Commonwealth Games.

"I thought if she's capable of doing [both sports] then certainly I can too," said Appiah, who turned 33 on May 15. "She's much more capable in throwing than I am right now but seeing her do it got [me thinking]."

Appiah's decision put a smile on the face of Lyndon Rush, the Olympic bobsled bronze medallist-turned Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton driving coach, who suggested for two years the 2020 Olympian find an off-season sport to work on her mental game.

"The difference between really good and champion is all between the ears," Rush, who has worked closely with Appiah the past two seasons, told CBC Sports. "If she ever wants to be a champion, she needs to be able to pull out that [elite] performance on-demand. Anybody who has competed at the highest level knows how hard it is."

In February, Appiah endured two crash-filled training weeks ahead of her final monobob competitions of the season.

The Toronto resident was humbled by the experience and subsequently didn't place expectations on her racing. She was more concerned about not crashing and performing well.

Appiah went to work on Feb. 11, posting the fastest time in the second of two runs at 54.63 seconds and climbed three spots for a women's bronze medal in Igls, Austria. A week later in Sigulda, Latvia, Appiah was quick off the start in both runs but had difficulty perfecting the bottom portion of the track on the way to another bronze in the final World Cup race of the season.

WATCH l Appiah earns monobob bronze in World Cup season finale:

A more underdeveloped version of Appiah would have shut down emotionally after crashes during the first run on back-to-back training days.

"That can cripple anyone, mentally," said Appiah. "The old me would have had a hard time seeing the possibility to compete and do well. [But] the good pilots [drivers] are able to put crashes or mistakes behind [them] because you still have a job to do. It's not over until it's actually over."