Sask. student to make history as first woman bobsledder to represent Trinidad and Tobago

Regina student and athlete Akenke Oliver says the high speeds won't be what she's worried about when she hops into a bobsled for the first time next week.

"I'm just really nervous about making my country proud and putting us on the map and giving us that opportunity to really showcase all the incredible talents we have in Trinidad and Tobago," she told CBC's the Morning Edition on Thursday.

"I'm really a person who seeks out adrenaline and really strives on it, so I'm not nervous at all to really head down the track."

Oliver, 26, is set to make history as the first woman to compete for Trinidad and Tobago in the fastest sport on ice at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton European Championship later this month.

The Saskatchewan Polytechnic student has competed internationally in gymnastics, track and netball, but her first foray into bobsled and winter sports in general will happen at around 120 kilometres per hour. 

Oliver has entered the female monobob event, which means she'll be piloting the bobsled down the track solo.

She leaves for Igls, Austria, on Friday to begin a week-long crash course in bobsled racing before the competition begins in Sigulda, Latvia, on Feb 2. 

"I have never set foot inside a bobsled, so my experience would really come from being conditioned on the track and having that strength and conditioning from all the other sports I've done," Oliver said.

She was thrilled when she found out she made the team this past June, and hopes competing will encourage other women from warm-weather countries to compete in winter sports like bobsled.

"It was really an exhilarating experience for me," Oliver said. "It's also a tremendous responsibility as well to really pave the way for future female athletes in winter