When Skylar Sieben moved from Calgary, Alberta to Tucson, Arizona, it was for one reason: track and field. Recruited to compete for the University of Arizona, Sieben spent six years building a name for herself as one of the Wildcats’ top multi event athletes, while also earning two degrees in the process, one of which was a bachelor’s of science in biology from the College of Science.
Now, just a couple years after finishing her collegiate career, Sieben is preparing for one of the biggest stages in sports: the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Competing for Team Canada in two-women bobsled, Sieben will race in four heats over two days on February 20 and 21. Before the final competition, teams must survive qualifying rounds, which Sieben says are essentially about proving you can get down the track cleanly without crashing.
It’s a high speed and high stakes event. What makes Sieben’s story even more surprising is how quickly it all happened. This is only her second season in bobsleighing.
Before switching her focus to winter sports, Sieben competed in the heptathlon for five years at Arizona, a combined event that requires speed, strength, endurance and consistency across two full days. Her track resume speaks for itself. In 2021, she posted the program’s fifth best heptathlon score at the Pac-12 Championship and qualified for her first NCAA Finals appearance. In 2022, she won the pentathlon at the Pac-12 Invitational and placed third in the heptathlon at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championship. In 2023, she finished sixth in the heptathlon at Pac-12s, highlighted by fourth place finishes in shot put and javelin.
Even with all these accomplishments, Sieben said she knew her future wasn’t on track but rather one that she had dreamed of since she was a kid — competing in the Olympics.
Sieben graduated from the College of Science with her undergraduate biology degree in 2022, then completed her master’s degree in cellular and molecular medicine in 2024. During that time, she worked on her thesis in Dr. Jean Wilson’s lab, giving her a glimpse into what life might look like outside athletics.
During her academic tenure, U of A pole vault coach Dominic Johnson kept encouraging her to try bobsleigh. After finishing her master’s degree, she decided to take the leap.
“After I finally graduated with my masters, I was kind of at a crossroads,” Sieben said. “I was like, ‘Do I start working?’”
The biggest adjustment to bobsleigh was learning how much work was required before the sled ever hits the ice. Between sanding and polishing runners, preparing equipment, and maintaining the sled, the preparation can take hours for a race that lasts less than a minute.
“A big misconception coming into the sport is you don’t realize how much behind the scenes work there is,” she said. “It definitely threw me for a loop.”
At the Olympics, Sieben will race with pilot Bianca Ribbi. The pairing came together late in the season after Ribbi qualified Canada’s third sled. Despite never racing together before, Sieben said her experience working with different teammates at the U of A and adapting quickly has helped her adjust.
Off the track, Tucson remains a major part of Sieben’s life. While much of her family still lives in Canada, Sieben said she feels equally supported by the community she built in Southern Arizona.
“I feel like I have just as big of a community in Tucson as I do back home,” she said. “And that’s really cool.”