A crowd of friendly faces greeted Canadians Tristan Walker and Justin Snith as they raced down the rowing course for the last time.
After a long 17-year career, the duo slipped into retirement by leading a World Cup men’s doubles race in Whistler, BC on Saturday.
“Something like that is always going to be bittersweet. We’re both moving on to things we’re pretty excited about,” Walker said after a round of hugs and high-fives with friends and family at the finish line.
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The next generation of Canadian luge recruits gets a snowy, trackless start in Calgary
“It feels right. Definitely a bit sad, but it feels like it’s about time.”
This weekend marks the first time the World Cup has been held in North America since 2019.
The pair said it was special to step out on the track where they made their Olympic debut as 17-year-olds in the 2010 Vancouver Games.
“It’s nice to come back here after a three-year hiatus, no racing in North America,” Snith said. “Finally going out of the house is nice.”
Walker, of Cochrane, Alta., is moving on to a career as a helicopter pilot and Calgary’s Snith is heading to school for instrumentation.
Both 31, they go out as Canada’s most successful double rowing team.
The four-time Olympians became the first Canadians ever to win a medal in a World Cup doubles race in 2014 when they took bronze in Konigssee, Germany.
They finished fourth in both doubles and the team relay at the Sochi Olympics that same year, and then took silver in the team event at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.
On Saturday, Walker and Snith reunited with fellow medalists Sam Edney, now Luge Canada’s high performance director, and Alex Gough, Luge Canada’s current president, as they cracked a beer on the finish dock before posing for photos.
One highlight of their luge careers was the people they spent time with, especially their fellow athletes on Team Canada, Walker said.
“Hopefully we’ll be here once a season,” he said. “We will be here to drink beer with them and not slip anymore.”
The pair waited at the finish line Saturday to cheer on Canada’s new men’s doubles team, Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski, both of Calgary.
“Looking at how close things were last year between us and the young boys, they were clearly nipping at our heels and ahead of us in a few races,” Snith said.
“We’ve made it clear to them, if they’re struggling at all in Europe, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or send us a text. We helped them as much as we could last year. We wish the team nothing but success.”
“We leave (Team Canada) in good hands,” Walker added. “They have come a long way. We are really proud of those boys. They have a bright future ahead of them.”
© 2022 The Canadian Press
