Jesse Lumsden

Last updated
Jesse Lumsden
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1982-08-03) August 3, 1982 (age 43)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight101 kg (223 lb)
Sport
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Sport Bobsleigh
Medal record
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Lake Placid Two man
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 Königssee Two-man
Jesse Lumsden
Profile
Position Running back
Personal information
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Trinity
Nelson
University McMaster
CFL draft 2005: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Career history
2005 Seattle Seahawks*
20052008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2009 Edmonton Eskimos
2010 Calgary Stampeders
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Stats at CFL.ca (archive)

Jesse Lumsden (born August 3, 1982) is a Canadian Olympic and world champion bobsledder and a retired Canadian football player, who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders. [1]

Contents

Career

Football

Lumsden is the son of former CFL fullback Neil Lumsden. Jesse attended Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario [2] and Nelson High School in Burlington, Ontario (where he led them to the Metro Bowl Title), [3] and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. [4] Lumsden had a standout career with the McMaster Marauders, where he won the Hec Crighton Trophy in 2004 and was invited to the East-West Shrine Game. Lumsden continues to hold several Marauders records, including most touchdowns in a season and for a career. [5]

Lumsden was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 2005, but was released shortly thereafter. Following his release, he had a short tenure with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In January 2006, he was signed to play for the Washington Redskins [6] and was later released only to play with the Tiger-Cats once again. In 2009, Lumsden signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, but he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in their opening game. On May 5, 2010, Lumsden was released by the Eskimos. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders on a practice roster agreement midway through the 2010 season, and was activated in October. [7] [8]

Lumsden was timed consistently around 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash during his playing career.[ citation needed ]

Bobsled

Lumsden took part in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics as a member of Pierre Lueders' bobsleigh team; he was the brakeman in the two-man sled that won the Canadian National Bobsleigh championships at the Whistler Sliding Centre, March 21, 2009. It was expected that he participated in both the two-man and four-man teams in the 2009–10 world competitions leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. [9] On January 27, 2010 Lumsden was named to the 2010 Canadian Olympic bobsleigh team [10] where he and driver Pierre Lueders finished fifth both in the two-man and in the four-man bobsleigh events. During the Olympics, he and his four-man bobsled team flipped over during a false turn. Justin Kripps and the others walked out of the accident untouched.

Lumsden partnered with Lyndon Rush for the 2011-12 2011–12 Bobsleigh World Cup season. [11] They won their first World Cup event in the two-man event on home soil in Whistler, British Columbia in February 2012. [11] It was the first gold medal of Lumsden's career and his second medal overall. They finished 4th in the World Cup standings that season, and concluded it with a silver medal at the world championships in Lake Placid, New York. [12]

In the 2012–13 Bobsleigh World Cup season, Lumsden and Rush were on the podium three times, including two wins. They were 3rd at Winterberg, Germany, [13] and then won twice. Their first victory of the season was in La Plagne, France, [14] and the second was at Königssee, Germany. [15] Those results helped Lumsden and Rush win the 2 man overall 2012–13 Bobsleigh World Cup title. [16]

Lumsden qualified for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as a member of the Canada 1 four-man bobsled team, and a member of the Canada 2, two-man bobsled. Lumsden finished 7th overall in the 2-man Bobsled competition, finishing 1.4 seconds behind the leader through 4 heats. [17] [18]

Lumsden competed in both the two-man event - with Nick Poloniato - and four-man event - under driver Justin Kripps - at the 2018 Winter Olympics, his third games, finishing 7th in the two-man event and 6th in the four-man event.

Administration appointment

In June 2024 Lumsden was appointed high performance director of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, the national governing body for bobsled and skeleton, after spending four and a half years in the business world with Neo Financial. [1]

Honors

Lumsden was inducted into the Burlington Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. [19] [20] He was put into the McMaster University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Former Olympian Jesse Lumsden now Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton high performance director". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  2. Notable Alumni. Tcs.on.ca. Retrieved on November 23, 2011.
  3. Career Archived September 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . JesseLumsden28.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2011.
  4. Marshall, Kyle. "Jesse Lumsden Enjoying Life After Competing at the Highest Levels for More Than Two Decades". Burlington Local-News. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Jesse Lumsden". McMaster Marauders. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  6. Washington Redskins News – Canadian Signs Two-Year Deal With Redskins – January 24, 2006. The-hogs.net. Retrieved on November 23, 2011.
  7. "Stampeders sign RB Lumsden to practice roster agreement". The Sports Network. September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  8. "Calgary Stampeders – Locker Room Blog". October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011.
  9. Lalji, Farhan (2009-03-23). "Following bobsleigh title, Lumsden could go to Olympics". TSN.ca. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  10. "Lumsden hits the Olympic Track". CFL Enterprises. February 16, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Canadians Rush, Lumsden win bobsleigh gold". CBC. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  12. "Canada's Rush, Lumsden capture world bobsleigh silver". CBC Sports. 19 February 2012.
  13. "Canada's Humphries wins seventh straight World Cup bobsled race". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  14. "Canada's Rush and Lumsden win bobsled gold at WCup; Reid takes skeleton silver". City News. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  15. "Lyndon Rush, Jesse Lumsden get gold". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  16. Camu, Michael (February 16, 2013). "Canada's Lyndon Rush, Lumsden capture World Cup bobsleigh title". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  17. "Canada Bobsled team members at Sochi". Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  18. "Sochi 2014 – Two-man Bobsled results". Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  19. "Jesse Lumsden". Burlington Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  20. Parr, Pepper. "Four sports achievers inducted into the Burlington Sports Hall of Fame". Burlington Gazette. Retrieved 21 January 2026.