Dennis Marineau named head coach of Canada’s bobsled team

CALGARY — A man who represented Canada in Olympic bobsled has returned to coach the national team.

Dennis Marineau of Calgary was named head coach of Canada’s bob team Tuesday.

The 63-year-old competed for Canada in the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and raced for the national team for a decade.

Marineau has worked with Canadian and American sliders for the last three decades. He was a driving coach for Canada in three Olympic Games, and a coach with Alberta Bobsleigh.

Marineau was a technical coach for the United States for four years leading into February’s Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy. The U.S. won a gold medal and two bronze in women’s bobsled in Italy.

“I spent most of my career within the Canadian bobsleigh system, and returning is an opportunity to give back to a program that helped shape me as both an athlete and coach,” Marineau said Tuesday in a statement.

“I get to come home and show my Canadian pride.”

Canada was held off the Olympic bobsled podium in 2026 for the first time since 2002.

“I want to build confident, disciplined, hardworking athletes and staff who understand the value of teamwork, preparation, and execution under pressure,” Marineau said. “My focus will be on three areas: creating a culture of accountability and execution, strengthening athlete and pilot development, and providing strong communication with clear direction.”

The sliding track at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park, which was the venue for the 1988 Olympics and where Canada’s sliding teams are based, closed in 2019.

Athletes have since trained their push starts at COP’s ice house and travelled to Canada’s lone sliding track in Whistler, B.C., for training camps.

Justin Kripps, Lyndon Rush and Chris Spring co-coached Canada’s team in Italy.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton has reshuffled management of the bobsled team.

Three-time Olympian and former CFL player Jesse Lumsden shifted from high-performance director to a new role as BCS vice president. Lumsden will be responsible for business development and strengthening organizational culture, while also working as a start coach.

Ryan Sommer, who was a brakeman for Kripps when they won the Olympic four-man bronze medal in Beijing in 2022, moved from high-performance manager to director.

“Dennis brings an exceptional combination of Olympic experience, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of the Canadian bobsleigh program and the national sport system,” Sommer said.

“He has helped shape the success of some of Canada’s top athletes over the last three decades, and his passion for developing people on and off the track, building culture, and driving high performance makes him the right leader for our program as we enter this new chapter that will put a strong focus on development.”

Kripps, who piloted Canada to Olympic two-man gold in 2018, replaces Sommer as high-performance manager. Spring, a four-time Olympian, will continue to coach alongside Marineau.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2026.

The Canadian Press