Calgary girl finds inspiration from Canadian bobsledder who traded pool for track

Canadian Olympian Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson is teaching a seven-year-old how to dive following his own journey from water to the ice.

Fresh off an appearance last month in Milan, Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson is fulfilling a promise he made to a seven-year-old about teaching her how to dive.

It’s a moment Grade 1 student Kaylee Wilsher didn’t think would happen.

Before the Winter Olympics, Kaylee introduced a member of Canada’s men’s bobsled team to her school.

Wilsher became fascinated with Eskrick-Parkinson’s journey from the water to the bobsled track.

“He could do diving, and it doesn’t matter which sport you can do,” said Wilsher.

“And also, it doesn’t matter if you can do two things at the exact same time.”

Eskrick-Parkinson narrowly missed qualifying for Team Jamaica at the 2024 Paralympic Games for diving.

He then turned his attention to bobsledding after advice from a mentor—making his first Olympic appearance this year in Italy.

Wilsher’s mom, Jessica, says Eskrick-Parkinson was very generous with his time.

“He said, ‘I want to follow up with you. I got to go to the Olympics. I’ll be right back,’” said Jessica Wilsher.

“And then he did. It’s like, who he is.”

The pair reconnected on the diving board, where Kaylee started small before moving higher.

“I think it’s a story of mentorship,” said Eskrick-Parkinson.

“I would not be where I am today without all the mentors that helped me get here from when I was her age. When I started diving, I was eight years old.”

Kaylee’s favourite experience was “jumping off the five-metre-high board.”

She enjoys diving and she, too, would like to represent Canada on the Olympic stage one day.

“You can do lots of cool moves, and you can also dive headfirst,” she said.

Several previous, unrelated injuries only made her braver on the diving board high above the water.

“I cracked my head open two times, and also I broke my elbow, but I kept on going,” Kaylee said.

For Eskrick-Parkinson, mentoring the next generation in a sport he loved growing up has been rewarding, but not enough for him to possibly think of qualifying for the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

“I think I put on 30 pounds in the last two years or so,” Eskrick-Parkinson said.

“And getting back into diving requires a complete physique change, a complete mental change, so I think I’m going to stick with bobsled as long as I can.”

Eskrick-Parkinson finished 20th for Team Canada in the four-man bobsled event in Milan.