These former Saskatchewan Roughriders are now Olympians

Saskatchewan Roughriders' Jacob Dearborn, right, runs an interception while Calgary Stampeders players chase him during first half CFL football action in Calgary, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders Jacob Dearborn and Shaq Murray-Lawrence will wear the maple leaf at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy next month.

Dearborn, from Yarker, Ont., will pilot one of two Canadian men’s bobsleigh teams, his second-straight Olympics’ appearance.

Signed as an undrafted free agent, Dearborn played 14 games for the Roughriders in 2019, which included a trip to the Western Division Final.

The Carleton University product was also a member of the team in 2021.

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In 23 career Canadian Football League games, including 22 with the Riders, he recorded 18 defensive tackles, added six on special teams and also has two career interceptions.

Dearborn made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022 where he was part of the four-man crew that raced with Taylor Austin, where the team finished 23rd.

Meanwhile, Murray-Lawrence will be pushing two-man and four-man sleds for Canada at the games.

He was on Saskatchewan’s practice squad for a period in 2018. Murray-Lawrence also spent time with the B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes in a seven-year CFL career.

The 2026 Olympics will be the first for the Scarborough, Ont. product.

There will be two Canadian sleds in both the two-man and four-man events.

Canada will also have three sleds in the two-woman event and two sleds in the women’s monobob event.

Team Canada has won 10 Olympic bobsleigh medals since 1964, including five golds, two silver, and three bronze.

The women’s monobob race will take place Feb. 15-16, while the two-man bobsleigh competition will be contested Feb. 16-17.

The two-woman bobsleigh race will be held Feb. 20-21, while the four-man sleds will hit the start line at the Cortina Sliding Centre, Feb. 21-22 to close out the Olympic Winter Games schedule.

Team Canada Bobsledders at Milano Cortina 2026:

Women’s Team

• Cynthia Appiah (Toronto, Ont.) – Women’s Pilot
• Melissa Lotholz (Barrhead, Alta.) – Women’s Pilot
• Bianca Ribi (Calgary, Alta.) – Women’s Pilot
• Kelsey Mitchell (Sherwood Park, Alta.) – Women’s Crew
• Dawn Richardson Wilson (Edmonton, Alta.) – Women’s Crew
• Skylar Sieben (Cochrane, Alta.) – Women’s Crew
• Niamh Haughey (Toronto, Ont.) – Women’s Alternate
• Eden Wilson (Calgary, Alta.) – Women’s Alternate

Men’s Team

• Taylor Austin (Lethbridge, Alta.) – Men’s Pilot
• Jay [Jacob] Dearborn (Yarker, Ont.) – Men’s Pilot
• Keaton Bruggeling (St. Catharines, Ont.) – Men’s Crew
• Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson (Calgary, Alta.) – Men’s Crew
• Mike Evelyn O’Higgins (Ottawa, Ont.) – Men’s Crew
• Shaq Murray-Lawrence (Scarborough, Ont.) – Men’s Crew
• Luka Stoikos (Stouffville, Ont.) – Men’s Crew
• Mark Zanette (Woodbridge, Ont.) – Men’s Crew
• Chris Holmstead (Burlington, Ont.) – Men’s Alternate