Like most athletes Luke Demetre has probably dreamed where his abilities might take him. But not once did he imagine his sprinting skills on the track would have him hurtling down a sheet of ice at speeds upwards of 120 kilometres an hour.
You could say his life is on a new track.
The Abercrombie native has competed as a runner at the Canada Games and is currently a student at Dalhousie University where he is a member of their track and field team.
It was there that his opportunity to try bobsledding materialized.
A Halifax bobsledder had a teammate back out on him prior to the America's Cup competition in May. He needed someone to fill the spot, so he went to the track and started looking for someone who would fit the characteristics needed. Speed, strength and power are all a must for bobsledders.
"The sled weighs a ton," Demetre said. "You need the power to push it and the speed to run with it quickly."
Demetre fit the bill.
Enticed by the offer to try the new sport and an all expense paid trip to Lake Placid, New York, Demetre agreed to give it a shot.
"It came out of the blue. I have never imagined doing bobsledding before," he says. "I thought it would be kind of cool to try."
He couldn't have been more green when he arrived in New York.
"I had never seen a bobsled before," he said.
Going down the track for the first time is, in a word, "frightening," Demetre said.
"There's quite a bit of shaking and big turns," he said.
He now knows what a G-force feels like.
"Basically you're sitting on the bottom of the sled,' he said. "All it is is a little frame with a big covering over the top. You sit on the bottom and hold on."
Surprisingly he finished sixth at the event.
"Not shabby," says his mother Anna of his first attempt.
She admits she was a bit nervous when he first told her what he was doing.
"It actually kind of scared me because I wasn't sure what all was involved in it," she said. But Luke assured her it was quite safe.
He followed up the May competition by attending an ID camp held by Canada's Bobsleigh team in Halifax. Athletes were tested for their speed and strength. His results were enough to earn him an invite to Calgary earlier this month for a weeklong event.
He must have done enough to impress, because he's been invited back for a second camp Aug. 21-27.
In October, the Canadian Bobsleigh team will be holding their selection races.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to make the team and compete with them," Luke said.
If he earns a spot, he will most likely start out competing in lower level events such as the America's Cup and Europa Cup, but it could eventually lead to World Cup and Olympic competitions.
"But that's very much down the road," Luke says.
There's nowhere to practise bobsledding locally, so Demetre has to focus on the elements involved with it and wait for the development camps to actually get the bobsledding experience.
For now he's keeping his focus on his sprinting and strength.
"I'm doing a lot of weight training," he said. "I'm a little bit weak and a little bit small for bobsledding. There's some beasts."
