How the lone Winter Olympian in Texas Longhorns history changed sports, earned silver

Helen Upperton is a woman of fire and ice.

The former Texas  Longhorns triple jumper became a hero in her native Canada when she and partner Shelley-Ann Brown won a silver medal in the two-woman bobsled race at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Upperton, 46, is now a firefighter in her hometown of Calgary, where she continues her life with another passion that includes an element of danger. Whether it's dousing structure fires or dealing with family emergencies, working for the Calgary Fire Department is "something positive" she does for the community, she told the American-Statesman.

Upperton said she has always been a bit of a daredevil, although being a firefighter hardly compares to representing your country in the Olympics. There is a "component of adrenaline" while battling an occasional multi-story building. On other occasions she responds to "medical interventions" and pet rescues while working 24-hour shifts for the department.

Upperton has always been a curious athlete, feeding off of challenges and adrenaline. Soccer was her first love — and probably, in her estimation, the sport she's most skilled at — but that led her to the national junior level for track and field. Born in Kuwait to parents were in the oil business, she eventually found herself competing with the UT track and field team around the turn of the century.

Helen Upperton's work ethic developed with Texas track

Upperton considers the move to Austin as "an awakening."

"There were so many wonderful athletes and coaches at Texas," the bobsled driver said ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. "UT was the turning point in my athletic career. I was very competitive in soccer and track and fied and was free- spirited. I did quite well without having to work that hard.

"At Texas, I was pretty average in track. You had world records holders, professionals there. I was pretty happy to be part of the program. I was never a star on the team, but I became a harder worker at Texas. With that kind of work ethic, I wanted to be part of the team."

While Upperton is the lone Longhorn medalist ever to compete in the Winter Olympics, that's hardly the case in the Summer Games. The Horns have amassed 178 medals over the years, 98 of them gold, including four by basketball player Kevin Durant. At the Paris games in 2024, Longhorn athletes came home with a total of 16 medals, including six gold.

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Although she lettered at Texas from 1998 to 2000, the 5-foot-9, 150-pound Upperton did not have a happy ending in burnt orange.

She suffered a stress fracture in her right foot during her junior season, an injury that required surgery and nearly two years in a cast. She was unable to return after having pins inserted into the foot. Her Longhorn career had come to an end.

While that door closed, a window opened when scouts for the Canadian Olympic asked her if she would try her luck in a bobsled. They liked her size and thought she could developed into a champion. Reluctant at first to compete in a "male-driven sport," Upperton gave it shot after the adrenaline bug bit her. Barreling down a sheet of ice at 95 mph in a 400-pound bobsled hooked her interest.

Another turning point in Upperton's life came in 2003 when she started driving school and won her first bobsled race. That was the beginning of a new career that would take her to world championships and more. In the 2004-05 season, she finished 11th in the World Cup standings. The next year was a big leap forward for Upperton and the Canadian team. She won Canada's first women's World Cup gold medal and finished second overall in the World Cup rankings.

Then came the Olympic Games.

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Shining inside a bobsled on the world stage

At the 2006 Torino Olympics, she and teammate Heather Moyse just missed out on a bronze medal, finishing fourth, just five one-hundredths of a second behind Italian bronze medalists Gerda Weissensteiner and Jennifer Isacco. In heartbreaking fashion, Upperton then finished fourth in the 2008 and 2009 World Championships.

But in 2010, Upperton found herself on the world's stage, an Olympic silver medal wrapped around her neck.

Any hard feelings about finishing second?

"No," Upperton replied. "At least the gold medalists (Kaillie Humphries and Moyse) were from Canada."

Today Upperton receives plenty of support from husband Jesse Lumsden, daughter Florence, 8, and son Rowan, 6.

Lumsden is a terrific athlete in his own right. Also a bobsledder during his prime, Lumsden won a gold medal at the 2012 World Championships in Lake Placid and a silver medals in the 2017 World Championships in Germany. He also left his mark on the gridiron, playing six seasons in the Canadian Football League, including four with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

As for his wife, Upperton is preparing for the 2026 games in Italy — as a TV broadcaster covering bobsled race for CBC Sports. This marks her third Winter Olympics behind the microphone. The ever-competitive former bobsledder won a Canadian Screen Award as the nation's best sports analyst for her coverage of the 2020 Olympics in Beijing.

"Sports is a gift," Upperton said. "It shapes you."