Toronto-born bobsledder ready for 2022 Beijing Olympics
CBC
Cynthia Appiah says she faced the biggest setback of her athletic career at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games in South Korea.
After years of hard work and sacrifice, the Toronto athlete was told she'd be just an alternate on the Canadian women's bobsleigh team.
Appiah says she was ready to quit. But instead she pressed on.
"You have to put in 100 per cent to be able to achieve your goals," she told CBC News. "When you're striving for the Olympics, you can't be a part-time athlete."
Now, Appiah's gearing up for the Winter Games in Beijing and, this time, she'll be in the driver's seat. In the past four years, she's moved up from her role as a brakewoman to become a pilot for the team. And just last month she claimed the silver medal in the women's monobob at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup.
Appiah, 31, credits her athleticism and drive to her family.
Born to Ghanaian immigrants, Appiah and her siblings grew up in community housing in Toronto.
Family time meant gathering together to watch Jeopardy!, a highly-competitive experience in the Appiah household.
"It would get cut-throat," Appiah said. "I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I jump the gun and I answer the question before it's been fully read by the host and my sisters or my brother will get furious with me."
Appiah says her parents are her biggest cheerleaders and that they have always inspired her to go after the things she wants in life.
"They always made it known that they wanted us to … put our best effort into everything that we did," she said. "I just see how hard they've worked to be able to give us what we needed in life. And for that, I'm very grateful."
"Caring, smart and resilient" are words Martha Appiah uses to describe her Olympian older sister.
"She's always been the person who tries anything, always wants to push herself, pushes us as well to do our best" Martha said.
Martha says her sister inspires her; being a Black woman in a leadership position on the Canadian bobsleigh scene.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.