Cynthia Appiah

Biography

Cynthia Appiah made her official Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, driving in both the monobob and two-woman events, after having been an alternate brakewoman at PyeongChang 2018.

The experience of being an Olympic alternate had nearly led Appiah to walking away from bobsleigh, having come so close yet so far from achieving her Olympic dream. But with encouragement from teammates and coaches, she decided she would learn how to drive and control her own destiny in the sled.  

Her first international two-woman race as a pilot was a North American Cup event in November 2018. In January 2019, she competed in her first monobob race in Calgary before returning to the brakewoman position for the 2019 IBSF World Championships. 

Appiah was back in North American Cup races in 2019-20 and won her first medal on the circuit as a pilot when she grabbed bronze in Lake Placid in January 2020. She made her IBSF World Cup debut as a pilot a couple of weeks later in Innsbruck.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian bobsleigh team only competed in the second half of the 2020-21 season. In late January, she finished fourth in both the two-woman and monobob events at the World Cup in Innsbruck. In her first world championships as a pilot in 2021, Appiah was the top Canadian pilot in the monobob (placing fifth) and two-woman events (placing ninth).

During the 2021-22 season, Appiah reached the podium in four of seven Monobob World Series events and never placed lower than fifth to rank third in the overall standings. She also slid to three top eight finishes in World Cup two-woman events.

When monobob became a World Cup event in the 2022-23 season, Appiah earned her first Crystal Globe as she finished third in the overall standings on the strength of five podium performances. Heading into the 2025-26 season, she has seven career World Cup podiums (two silver, five bronze) in monobob.

Appiah capped the 2024-25 season with a career-best finish at the IBSF World Championships, placing fourth in monobob.

Appiah began competing on the North American Cup circuit as a brakewoman within two years of deciding to make bobsleigh her prime athletic pursuit and won two gold medals with pilot Alysia Rissling in January 2015.

Appiah made her World Cup debut in January 2016 in an all-woman four-man sled piloted by Kaillie Humphries. She got into her first elite two-woman race at the 2016 World Championships in a sled driven by Christine de Bruin. During the 2016-17 season, Appiah began competing in the two-woman event on the World Cup circuit and won gold in her first race in Whistler in December with Humphries. She also spent time in Rissling’s sled, which included a sixth-place finish at the world championships and a bronze at the Olympic test event for PyeongChang 2018.

Appiah competed in athletics at York University where she was named the 2013 York Female Athlete of the Year. She was a three-time silver medallist in shot put at the CIS Championships (2010, 2012, 2013) and won two medals in 20lb weight throw. In 2012, Appiah represented Canada at the NACAC U23 Championships, making the hammer throw and shot put finals.

A Little More About Cynthia

Getting into the Sport: Was introduced to bobsleigh in 2011 but didn’t pursue it seriously until 2013 after she had finished university… She had gotten to a point in her throwing career that she knew she couldn’t progress enough to be an Olympian, but felt there was an opportunity for her to be great in bobsleigh, knowing the power and strength she possessed… Outside Interests: Graduated from York University in 2013 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in history with a psychology minor… Supports Fast and Female, Classroom Champions, and the Jays Care Foundation… Fulfilled a lifelong dream when she appeared on Jeopardy! in October 2025… Huge fan of Sporcle quizzes, enjoys knitting and crocheting (though she never finishes projects), watching the Toronto Blue Jays, anime, trying new foods… Used to work in subscriber services for the Toronto Blue Jays… Odds and Ends: Biggest athletics inspiration is Serena Williams but also admires Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles for their prioritization of mental health… Favourite motto: “Every storm eventually runs out of rain”… Always puts her socks and shoes on left to right and has specific race-day clothes…