Megan Sampson Slides into a Whole New World
Megan Sampson was dearly hoping to hear something from someone.
The Langford, B.C., teenager had just participated in the RBC Training Ground — an identification camp where youngsters showcase their athletic abilities in front of representatives from national sporting organizations — in Victoria. A rugby standout, Megan performed well in the tests, which assess power, speed, strength and endurance. Eager to see a snapshot of her athletic metrics, she waited.
Finally, while in her Grade 9 class at Belmont Secondary School, she got an update. It was her mom, Chrissy Keddle, who messaged her with the surprising news — Luge Canada, via email, had indicated its interest in Megan.
“It was pretty funny,” says Chrissy. “She’s like, ‘What’s luge?’” Adds Megan: “I had no idea. I’d never even heard the word luge. I was not too happy that they reached out because I didn’t want anything to do with luge.”
To help her daughter better understand the sport, Mom sent a video of sliders in action. The reply?
“I don’t want to do this. This looks like something I would never have thought of, never seen, in my life.” However, Luge Canada’s representatives, encouraged by her wingspan and her advanced fitness levels, persuaded the 5-foot-5 kid to give the sport a whirl.
So, in August 2023, Megan and Chrissy flew to Calgary. There, she rattled downhill on a wheeled sled, then checked out the training facilities at the Ice House in WinSport, where she got a taste of on-ice starts. Suddenly, there was an appreciation of luge — and a desire to learn more. In the coming months, Megan participated in the RBC Training Ground finals in Toronto and, in Whistler, B.C., got her shot at the real thing — careening down an icy chute.
“Definitely, I was a little skeptical because there’s this huge hill I’m going to go down,” says Megan. “But after the first one, I was pretty comfortable.”
For Chrissy, keeping an eye on Megan as she progressed — and learned how to gather speed — was a new experience. “Standing on a rugby field. I’m used to lots of action and being able to see her,” says Mom. “Then, with luge, I could hear her rumbling down, then she just flew past doing 120 km/h and I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ But I was comfortable because I knew she was comfortable, because she had been doing so much training in Whistler, months’ worth of training. “But crashing at 120 is a whole lot different than tripping on a rugby field, right?”
These days, there is little crashing or tripping for Megan. But suddenly the question is: given the requisite commitment — and the overlapping seasons (rugby is nearly year-round) — is it even possible to pursue both sports?
“I’m kind of all over the place right now,” Megan, chuckling, says. “I think it’s manageable — but I’m pretty active.” Without doubt, a fork in the road looms. “There will be a point where I will have to choose one or the other. I think it’s coming faster than I would like it to.”
For Megan, that is going to be a difficult call, especially after 2024, which she describes as her “breakthrough” year in rugby. After all, it’s awfully tough to give up the kind of momentum that saw her competing in the B.C. Summer Games and travelling to the Tropical 7s tournament in Tampa, Fla.
“I’ve definitely gotten better every year,” says Megan, who, at one point, cracked the provincial U-14 squad. “I really like the team-bonding and I really like the contact, how fast the game moves, that there aren’t many stoppages.”
Tellingly, though, when Megan was invited to try out for B.C.’s U-18 side, she declined. Instead, she went to Whistler to sharpen her sliding skills so she could participate in the 2025 Canadian Championships in March.
The verdict, according to Chrissy, was a “big eye-opener” for the family.
“That decision definitely cost me a little sleep,” says Megan. “It took me a couple days to really think about what I was going to do — which one to choose. I decided it was better for me to choose the one that I had an Olympic path in, that I am already dialed in on.”
Being dialed in means tweaking workouts to enhance her sliding, with sessions including bench-press exercises, flexibility drills, and CrossFit. Luge Canada’s guidance is paying off. Gaining exposure to the sport, the 16-year-old’s pace has become increasingly brisk.
Remarkable, considering not that long ago, luge was a complete mystery to Megan. Now, she has already raced at the nationals, an experience she calls “really surreal” for a newcomer.
“It made me feel pretty good that Luge Canada thought I could do this and I’m showing them that I can do this.”