From concussions to coercion: Why Canada's Olympic sliders say their safety is at risk
CBC
Kori Hol still has her bobsleigh helmet. But not because the 29-year-old pilot has any aspirations to return to the sport.
"This is the helmet that ended my bobsleigh career," Hol said from her home in Port Moody, B.C. "I keep this one. This one, when I own my own house, will be on display I think because it kind of is a reminder of what I went through in the sport."
Hol was once one of Canada's most promising bobsleigh athletes. Twice she won the North American Cup overall gold, and had her sights on the Beijing Olympics. While trying to keep her spot on Canada's national team for the 2020-21 season, Hol crashed three times in a four-day span during the team selection races, hitting her head each time.
Hol alleges the national sport organization, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS), did not follow concussion protocols when she crashed. Namely, she said it wasn't until the third crash when a team therapist approached her to get evaluated.
Her allegations echo concerns over whether BCS puts a enough emphasis on athletes' safety. Such concerns were raised by more than a dozen current and former bobsleigh and skeleton competitors in interviews with CBC News since the Beijing Games.
"When it was time to get [tested], I was not escorted by team members, therapist, coach or any staff for that matter," Hol said, which is contrary to the concussion management protocol on the organization's website. "I was told to drive to the clinic myself and go get the baseline where I then was diagnosed with a concussion."
WATCH | Kori Hol was profiled as a Petro Canada FACE athlete in 2019:
While the protocol also says athletes need to report to the medical team following a blow to the head, Hol said that's not what's expected within the culture of the organization.
"Most of us compete with concussions because we'll lose a spot if we don't go back. It's kind of ingrained into us, you get back up, you go again. That's the culture we've been raised with," said Hol, who was cut from the team after getting hurt.
BCS has said it was a combination of Hol's on- and off-ice testing that resulted in her being left off the national team last season.
"I've faked my way through the concussion protocol," Hol said. "I would say I was fine, I would be eager to get back into exercise, only because if you don't go and compete, you're going to lose your spot. Which is obviously really dangerous."
BCS president Sarah Storey faced calls to resign last week in an open letter penned by more than 60 current and former athletes. The number of signatories has since grown to 82 as of Monday.
In response, the organization has called in a mediator to help address the athletes' concerns.
"It's really, really frightening the prospect that someone would try to outsmart, so to speak, those protocols," Storey said on the notion that athletes were circumventing concussion protocols in order to remain eligible to compete.
