For most of the past decade he's been Lyndon Rush, bobsledder.
Now, with his last Olympic Games behind him and retirement looming, he wants to be known as something else: Lyndon Rush, father and husband.
"Being a dad and husband is pretty high on my list," Rush said by phone from Sylvan Lake, Alta. "I have a great family that I'm blessed to have."
With three young daughters and a baby on the way, Rush has more than enough to fill his days now that he's no longer training to be an elite-level athlete. After finishing ninth in the two- and four-man bobsled competitions in Sochi, Rush, 33, has more or less decided to retire.
"I haven't made any sort of official announcement," Rush said. "I haven't had my season ending meetings with the coaches yet, but the sport works on four-year cycles and I'm not sure I can commit to that again."
If Sochi does turn out to be his last Olympics, Rush will leave his sport with a bit of disappointment but no regrets.
"I'm not happy about the result," he said. "I didn't go to finish top 10, I went to win. Still, I can't complain about the actual performance. We drove well, prepared well, did everything in our power to win. It just wasn't there. Our pace was off all year. You tip your cap to the other teams, they were really good."
Of the eight races he took part in at Sochi, Rush felt he only made on real mistake, during his first run in the two-man competition. It's for that reason that he can't really complain about what happened.
"I've won with lesser performances than that," he said.
For many athletes, stepping away from the sport that has consumed their lives for so long is often difficult, if not nearly impossible. In Rush's case, he found himself in good spirits on his last day of competition.
"Warming up, I was really happy," he remembered. "I knew it was probably going to be my last day racing, preparing, and warming up. I love racing and race days are special. I actually got a little bit overwhelmed and had to choke back tears during the warmup.
"I appreciate the time I've had racing and the people I've met. During warmups I was looking at the faces of the guys I've known and trying to hide my emotions. It was really nice and I was comfortable with that being the end of things for me."
At one point Rush also had to watch as another Canadian team took a nasty crash during one of their four-man runs. It was a reminder of the danger and unpredictability of a sport like bobsled.
"It was like a flashback for me because I crashed in Vancouver," Rush said. "Our coaches stacked that team to try to win a medal and we were all hoping they would have a great result. It was tough to see."
Now that he's returned to the normalcy of civilian life, Rush isn't quite sure how to fill his days just yet.
"I keep thinking about training when I wake up in the morning," he said. "I think, what should I do? I'm thinking about taking up rec sports. I've gotta do something."
Until 2009 Rush worked for his father, Jerry, in real estate, and while there's always the option to return to that, he hasn't quite decided what he's going to do. When asked about coaching bobsled, he seems interested.
"I've thought about it," he said. "I think I could help. I love the technical aspects and it would be great to give back to the sport. I might do a little bit of that over the next few years, but it's up to the federation to decide."
Even though he now lives in Alberta and has traveled the world competing, Rush still has a soft spot for his hometown.
"Since Vancouver, it's amazing the amount of support I've gotten from Humboldt," he said. "I don't know of any town that supports their athletes like Humboldt does. It's a very special place. Lots of people cheered for me and I appreciate it and am honoured by it."
Though he might not know what he wants to do professionally, Rush knows exactly what he wants to do at home. His daughters are now getting into sports and he's like all of the other dads, anxiously watching.
"My oldest daughter will be eight in July and she's doing sports herself now," Rush said. "It's been fun to watch her experience what I did through sport."
He laughed.
"I'm more excited to see her experience sports than I was for myself."
In addition to cheering his daughter on from the stands, Rush is also helping to coach her hockey team. Less than a month after being a part of the biggest sporting spectacle in the world, he's back to being a regular guy.
Lyndon Rush: dad, husband, former Olympian, and Sylvan Lake's most famous hockey coach.
