James Johnson
Founder and Principal

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MEET MELISSA

Pushing a sled has pushed me as a person.
I have grown deeper and achieved higher than I ever thought possible because of this sport! Along the way, I’ve had the incredible honour of inspiring and leading others to chase their own goals—impacting lives and strengthening the community around me.
For me, that’s true gold

Maybe that sounds cliché. But scribbled on the fifth page of my grade 8 journal (the first of what now is a 20+ volume series of thoughts, prayers, musings and doodles) is a giddy prayer about my audacious dream to one day compete at the prestigious Olympic Games.
Don’t ask me when and where that dream exactly began. I don’t remember.
But by the time I had reached the 8th grade it was there, familiar, deeply rooted, and already tainted with a grown-up understanding of probability such that in my journal I referred to it as my “silly dream”.
It wasn’t logical (dreams rarely are). And I had no idea where or how or if I could do it.
But more than anything, deep in my heart I wanted to compete at the Olympic level.
...and more than that, I wanted to use that experience to empower others and bring God glory.

Hi, I’m Melissa!

As a kid I dreamed of going to the Olympics.

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I was raised on the family farm - homesteaded by my great-grandfather in 1932

Growing up on the farm gave me endless opportunities to learn, explore, and build a strong foundation of strength and coordination.

But beyond the hands-on skills, the farm taught me lessons that still shape who I am today. Watching my family cultivate, plant, care for, and harvest crops year after year -through seasons of abundance and challenge - I learned the value of hard work, the payoff of perseverance, the importance of integrity, the balance between risk and reward, and the power of perspective.

SPRINTING TO SLEDDING

After growing up playing a variety of sports, I went on to compete in track and field at the University of Alberta. At the end of my first year, my teammate Christine deBruin made the switch from sprinting to bobsleigh sparking my interest in the sport.

Three years later, in 2013, I attended a Bobsleigh Canada recruitment camp. The following year, I packed up everything I owned and moved to Calgary to train full-time and officially try out for the national bobsleigh team.

Click here to learn more about Bobsleigh Canada recruitment!

PUSH TO START

The speed and power I developed as a sprinter transferred very well to pushing a sled. Within months of picking up the sport, I found myself on the World Cup circuit, competing in the top Canadian sled as a brakeman.

As a brakeman my primary role was to get the 170kg sled moving as fast as possible before jumping in, and then pulling the brakes after the finish line. Off the ice, I helped maintain and prepare equipment.

My entry into the sport felt a lot like a bobsleigh run itself - fast, unpredictable, and absolutely exhilarating.

From 2014 to 2018 I became one of the top brakemen in the world, earning:

- 2 Overall titles (crystal globe)

- 2 runner up titles (crystal globe)

- 2 World Championship silver medals

- 17 World Cup medals.

Alongside my teammates I also made history as part of the first all women’s team to compete in the 4-man World Cup competition.

In 2018 I got to live out my childhood dream of competing at the Olympics! I partnered with Christine deBruin (the track teammate who introduced me to the sport of bobsleigh) to finish 7th place in a tight race for the podium.

Long before I had even stepped foot on the ice we had joked about one day competing together at the Olympics - who would have thought that one day we would actually do it!

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PILOT PLUNGE

Following my Olympic debut I chose to challenge myself by learning how to pilot a sled with the goal of working back up to the World Cup level and qualifying for the 2022 Olympics in a new role.

Within a month of competing at the Games I was back at the track learning the ropes (literally!) of driving a sled.

Over the next four years I continued to progress as a pilot gaining experience on tracks around the world. In January of 2020 I made my return to the World Cup circuit - this time as a driver. Just a year later, I made history by winning Canada’s first-ever medal in the new Olympic discipline of women’s monobob.

At the 2022 Winter Games, I became the first Canadian woman ever to compete at the Olympics as both a brakewoman (2018) and pilot (2022). I finished 12th at the Games.

Now, as I work toward the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, my goal is to bring home a medal in the 2-woman and/or monobob event. In January of 2024 I earned my first world cup medal in the front seat of the 2man sled

Want to help me reach my gold?
Click here to learn more!

BEYOND BOBSLEIGH

While my career on the ice has been a thrilling journey, my passion extends far beyond competition. I’m deeply committed to investing in the next generation of athletes through coaching, my work with the bobsleigh Athlete Leadership Group, and my role as the in-term

Technical Director of Alberta Bobsleigh.

Off the ice, I’ve been honored to work with charities such as Athletes in Action and Classroom Champions, and to share my story through public speaking, inspiring youth and communities to dream bigger, persevere, and lead with integrity.

As I reflect on my career, I’m deeply humbled by how God has answered the simple prayer of a 12-year-old girl - that her “silly dream” of competing at the Olympics would come true, and that through that journey, she could inspire others and bring glory to God. Wow!