The 21-year-old slider competed at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics for Canada, but was born in Denver in the US and now hopes to compete for the country of his birth.

Fennell, who is currently based in Calgary, is the son of Dave Fennell, a former Canadian Football League (CFL) player who was born in Edmonton.

He finished 24th in Sochi and also competed for Canada at the 2012 Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, where he finished seventh.

He hopes to compete for the US in the International Luge Federation (FIL) World Cup series but would need to qualify through USA Luge's selection process in the Autumn. 

He was 38th in the overall World Cup standings during the 2015-16 campaign.

In order to represent the US, international luge regulations state that he must not have started for another country within the same sporting year.

In December 2014, Fennell launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his luge career after his appearance at the Olympics.

"I am an up-and-coming Canadian luge athlete based out of Calgary, Alberta with some big dreams," he said on the website at the time. 

"I have been on the national team for two years now and I've been competing internationally since 2009. 

"In February 2014, I had the privilege of representing Canada in the Sochi Olympics. 

"I am a business student at the University of Calgary. 

"I like the mountains and I spend an abnormal amount of time in spandex."