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On the track
Rush began competing in 2004 after a five-year stint playing football for the University of Saskatchewan. While training as a brakeman Rush pulled a hamstring, thus his career as a driver was born. He went on to compete on the American cup circuit, later graduating to the Europa Cup level for the 2005-06 season. Having clinched two top-10 World Cup finishes in both men's events in 2007; he and brakeman Lascelles Brown earned a career-best fourth place on the Whistler track two years later. He and Brown -- who Rush describes as a "pure athlete - so fast, so strong" -- also placed seventh at the 2009 Worlds in Lake Placid, while Rush's four-man team took 12th.
The 2009-10 World Cup season opener proved golden for Rush. In Park City, Utah, he piloted CAN-1 to first place in the four-man event, defeating both Latvia's Janis Minins and Russia's Dmitry Abramovitch by 0.02 seconds.
Rushing to race
Prior to taking on the bobsled, Rush already had a passion for racing. "I grew up playing all sports," he says. "Whenever [my friends and I] were driving something, we were racing it, so the idea of being a pilot appealed to me. We raced motorcycles, motocross and snowcross. I love NASCAR and Formula One and all that stuff."
Family man
Born and raised in the small farming town of in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Rush is one of six children to dad, Jerry, and mom, Debbie. He and his younger brother, Nathan, sell commercial real estate with their father in Alberta. Married to Krista in 2003, a crown of thorns tattoo adorns his left ring finger, for Rush lost his wedding band during training. "We weren't even married a year," Rush says. "So when I lost it, I asked Krista if I could get a tattoo. She thought it was sweet, because then you can never take it off."
Rush and his wife are also parents of two daughters, Olivia and Amelia. Balancing fatherhood and bobsled isn't a small task either, Rush admits. "I love bobsled, but I really hate how much we're gone -- and gone to Europe. Technology makes it so much better. My first year, when we were in Europe, we had to go to Internet cafés. But the other day, when I was on Skype, Olivia said, 'Where's your other family, Daddy?' She wanted to see my house and where my other kids were. I realized she doesn't understand this at all. It was cute but kind of heartbreaking."
