Saskatchewan Roughriders’ DB Jacob Dearborn qualifies for Canadian Olympic bobsleigh team

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive back Jacob Dearborn has qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a member of Canada’s third sled in the four-man bobsleigh. He will compete on a four-man unit alongside Taylor Austin, Chris Patrician, and Dan Sunderland.

The 27-year-old dressed for eight games in 2021 and made two starts at strong-side linebacker, recording 18 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, and two interceptions. He dressed for 14 games as a rookie in 2019 and made four special teams tackles.

The six-foot-three, 201-pound Carleton product went unselected in the 2019 CFL Draft despite posting impressive testing numbers at the national combine. He recorded a 4.69 forty-yard dash, 42-inch vertical jump, eleven-foot, two-inch broad jump, 7.09-second three-cone drill, 4.34-second shuttle, and performed 12 reps on the bench press.

Retired CFL receiver Samuel Giguère has also qualified for the Olympics as part of a four-man squad alongside Chris Spring, Mike Evelyn, and Cody Sorensen.

The Sherbrooke product was a first-round pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2008 CFL Draft and spent the first four years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts (2008-10) and New York Giants (2010-11) of the NFL.

Giguère played seven seasons in the CFL as a member of the Ticats (2012-14), Montreal Alouettes (2015-17), and Edmonton Elks (2018), recording 207 receptions for 2,506 yards and 13 touchdowns in 107 career games. The native of Sherbrooke, Que. is now 36 years of age.

Canada most recently medalled in the four-man bobsleigh in Vancouver in 2010 when Lyndon Rush, David Bissett, Lascelles Brown, and Chris le Bihan captured bronze. The country has won the event one time since its inception in 1924, finishing atop the podium in Innsbruck in 1964.

Canada has had more recent success in two-person bobsleigh events with the men winning gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and the women winning gold and silver in 2010.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will take place from Feb. 4-20 in Beijing, located in northeast China.