The Rush family is heading west to cheer on their favourite bobsledder.
Lyndon Rush, who will represent Canada in the two- and four-man bobsled events over the next week at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, will have a raucous and supportive cheering section of more than a dozen family members from the Sylvan Lake area.
Lyndon’s father Jerry said Tuesday that four family members are flying out this week while eight others are making the journey by vehicle.
Lyndon’s younger brother Nathan is already at the Games in a volunteer capacity.
Lyndon, 29, will make his first two slides in the two-man event on Saturday and make the next two slides on Sunday. The standings are determined on the combined times of the four runs.
Rush hits the Whistler Sliding Centre track again on Feb. 26 and 27 for the four-man event.
Rush, who was born in Humboldt, Sask., but now lives in Sylvan Lake, is in his first Olympic Games.
As the bobsled driver, he’ll be pushed by Lascelles Brown and Chris Le Bihan of Calgary, along with Edmonton’s David Bissett in the four-man event. Brown will be his brakemen in the two-man event.
This season he earned his first-ever World Cup medals: a gold and a bronze in the four-man and a gold in the two-man. He is ranked sixth overall on the two-man circuit and eighth in the four-man.
In a recent interview in Vancouver, Lyndon predicted great things for his team at the Olympics.
“I think the coolest part of the Olympics is that it’s on the track out in Whistler,” he said. “I really like that track. I’m not a really experienced pilot, but I do have more runs than anybody else out there. So it’s kind of an advantage for me.”
Jerry Rush firmly believes his son has a good chance to reaching the medal podium.
“I think he’s going to do well. We’ll all be there cheering loudly and the fact he’s on a bit of a roll with excellent results” is a good sign, Jerry said.
Jerry said the home track advantage is an added bonus for the Canadians.
“I hear the European sledders are afraid of the track because they don’t like the sharp corners.
“Lyndon just loves the track. He’s had more than 100 runs on it and really enjoys the speed and challenge.”
Jerry said posters are up around Sylvan Lake cheering Lyndon on.
The Sylvan Lake branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is encouraging people to come into the branch on Saturday and Sunday to form a cheering section for Lyndon.
Lyndon is built for bobsledding. He has a compact but powerful frame standing 1.83 metres (six feet) and weighing 102 kg (225 pounds).
He played football for the University of Saskatchewan for five years as a linebacker, helping the Huskies reach two Vanier Cup finals.
He also races dirtbikes and snowmobiles competitively and when not competing, works in commercial real estate in Red Deer.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com