Ryan Sommer

The Olympic dream was sparked in Ryan later in life while working as a forest fire fighter in Northern Alberta. It was watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio, where he was dared by a friend to test his skills at a national recruitment camp. He relocated to Calgary the following month and never returned. 

His first Olympic experience came in 2018 when he traveled to PyeongChang to watch his girlfriend, Blayre Turnbull, win the silver medal in women’s hockey. 

After participating in testing camp in 2016, Ryan was on a bobsleigh mission. He made an immediate impact on the Canadian Bobsleigh Team in 2019 where he was sliding with Team Kripps, who were named Team of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Sport Awards following a gold medal performance in the four-man race at the 2019 World Cup in Lake Placid, and a bronze in front of friends and family at the World Championships on his favourite track in Whistler. Ryan also pushed Justin Kripps to the silver-medal step of the podium at a World Cup stop in Calgary in 2019.

The squad proved in 2020 they will continue to be a force to reckon with on the track to Beijing 2022. Team Kripps finished third in the Overall World Cup two- and four-man standings. They were second in the Overall Combined World Cup standings.

Ryan was active in a variety of sports. He competed in discus and hammer throw at the University of Lethbridge. He won a silver medal in discus at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.

Outside of sport, Ryan enjoys fly fishing, traveling, plants and culinary experiences.  He enjoys visiting the family cabin on Shushwap Lake. A graduate from the University of Lethbridge Kinesiology program, Ryan also has a Certificate of Business from Queens University.

When he is done sport, he hopes to open a coffee shop that sells plants, or return to fire fighting. 

Did You Know... 

Ryan did hip hop as a child and was captain of his Varsity track and field squad at the University of Lethbridge.

Career Highlights

	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Other
2021 - World Championship, Altenberg, GER				5th 4man
2021 - World Cup, Igls, AUT			4man
2021 - World Cup, Konigssee, GER				5th 4man
2021 - World Cup, Winterberg, GER		4man
2021 - World Cup, St Moritz, SUI			4man
2020 – World Cup, St. Moritz, SUI	4man
2020 – World Cup, Konigssee, GER			4man
2020 – World Cup, Igls, AUT				5th 4man
2020 – World Cup, La Plagne, FRA				5th 4man
2020 – World Cup, Winterberg, GER				5th 4man
2019 – World Championships, Whistler, CAN			4man
2019 – World Cup, Calgary, CAN		2man
2019 – World Cup, Lake Placid, USA	4man

Olympic Winter Games Results

Brakeman

World Championship Results

Brakeman

World Cup Results

Brakeman