Shaq Murray-Lawrence competes in bobsleigh.Candice Ward/COC
Candice Ward/COC

Shaq Murray-Lawrence

Biography

Shaq Murray-Lawrence is set to make his Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026 after having been an alternate at Beijing 2022.

Murray-Lawrence came to bobsleigh from football. After playing collegiately at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, he was a third-round selection by the B.C. Lions in the 2015 CFL Draft. After three seasons in B.C., he made stops in Saskatchewan and Montreal, where his play as a running back and kick returner caught the attention of bobsleigh coaches.

He attended a National Bobsleigh Team Selection Camp in the fall of 2020 while the CFL was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his international bobsleigh debut in January 2021, first in a Europe Cup event before competing in his first IBSF World Cup event, racing in four-man with pilot Christopher Spring.

Murray-Lawrence reached his first World Cup podium at the opening stop of the 2022-23 season when he won bronze with Taylor Austin’s four-man sled in Whistler.

He has competed at three straight IBSF World Championships (2023-2025). At each one, he was in Austin’s four-man sled, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in 2025.  

Murray-Lawrence helped Austin top the North American Cup four-man standings in 2021-22, winning six gold and two silver in eight races.

Notable International Results

IBSF World Championships: 2025 - 16th (2-man), 8th (4-man); 2024 - 12th (4-man); 2023 - DNF (2-man), 13th (4-man)

Pan American Championships: 2025 - 5th (2-man), SILVER (4-man); 2024 - BRONZE (2-man), GOLD (4-man)