SASKATOON -- The bobsleigh track in Winterburg is a particularly difficult track if you ask Saskatchewan-born Ben Coakwell. This year Canada was able to make the podium with a silver medal.

“It’s a really tough place to win a medal, the Germans have been winning medals there for as long as I can remember. It was super exciting for us,” Coakwell, Team Canada’s brakeman, said.

Coakwell said that this was the teams first four man race of their year, so to walk away with an early medal means a lot to not only the team, but for those looking to grow the sport.

“We’ve been super proud to be able to win races in these last two years because it is definitely brining new athletes into our program, and showing people that there is opportunity in Canada for the sport.” Coackwell said.

“It’s the same teams that were racing against, but we go from spot to spot, each city hosts a World Cup week, it’s a good time. St. Moritz is awesome because this is where bobsleigh was invented, this is where it kind of came to life,” he said.

The team will be in St. Moritz, Switzerland for a week, training for the upcoming race there before they return to Germany for another leg of the World Cup, which they will be competing in for the next three weeks.

Coakwell said that last year they won gold in St. Moritz and they are hoping to reclaim the title this year.