Jamaica national bobsled team
The Jamaican national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsledding competitions. The team first gained fame during their debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where they gained international fame as the ultimate underdogs, representing a tropical nation in a winter sport. The team's performance at the 1988 Olympics inspired the 1993 film Cool Runnings.
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[edit] Origins
George B. Fitch and William Maloney, Americans with family and business ties to Jamaica, were largely responsible for the founding of the Jamaican bobsleigh team. During a visit to the island they witnessed a pushcart derby and realized that pushcart racing is very similar to bobsledding.[1] Since bobsleighing requires a fast start, Maloney and Fitch decided to use sprinters, who are plentiful on the island nation of Jamaica. They originally tried to recruit Olympic-class sprinters, but found little interest, so they presented their idea to Colonel Ken Barnes of the Jamaican military.[1]
The first four members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team were:[1]
- Devon Harris, a lieutenant in the Second Battalion, Jamaica Regiment
- Dudley Stokes, a captain from the JDF Air Wing
- Michael White, a private in the National Reserves
- Samuel Clayton, a railway engineer
They were coached by Howard Siler, of Malone, New York.
[edit] Olympics
The Jamaican four-man bobsleigh team debuted at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. There they quickly became a fan favorite largely because of their status position as the ultimate 'underdog' story of the games. Not only was there the novelty of having a tropical country compete in a cold-weather sport, but they had very little practice going down a bobsled track before, and they borrowed spare sleds from other countries to compete. In a show of worldly brotherhood, other bobsledders were quick to give them guidance and support. They did not officially finish after losing control of the sled and crashing during one of their four runs. However, they showed significant improvement throughout the games and impressed observers with some fast starts. After crashing, they famously got out of their sled and walked to the finish line to great applause.[2]
This team was the inspiration for a major motion picture, Cool Runnings featuring John Candy as the team's coach. The characters in the film are fictional, although the original footage of the crash is used during the film. The film's depiction of the post-crash rescue was changed to show the bobsledders carrying the sled over the line on their shoulders for dramatic effect, although at the time of the crash the images of the Jamaicans walking their sled to the finish line while smiling and shaking hands with the crowds remains one of the truly powerful images of the Calgary games in its own right.
The team returned to the Olympics in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, but finished poorly.[3][4] They qualified again for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. There, the Jamaican four sled stunned many of their critics by finishing in 14th place, ahead of the United States, Russia, Australia, France and one sled from Italy.[5]
In 2000, the Jamaican bobsleigh team won the gold medal at the World Push Championships in Monaco.[6] At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the 2-man team of Winston Watt (pilot) and Lascelles Brown (brakeman), set the Park City bobsled track record and the Olympic record for the push-start segment of the 2-man race at 4.78 seconds. Jamaica failed to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy or the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
After the 2002 Winter Olympics, Lascelles Brown, moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he married his Canadian girlfriend and became a Canadian resident. In 2004, Brown joined the Canadian bobsled team. In 2006, at the Torino Winter Olympics, with his Canadian driver Pierre Lueders, Brown won the Olympic Silver Medal (second place) for the 2-man bobsled event. At the Vancouver Games in 2010, Brown again raced for Canada, and received an Olympic Bronze Medal, when his Canadian 4-man team finished in third place. The successes of Watt and Brown have proven that Jamaica has the ability to produce world-class Winter Olympic athletes, which was one of the premises of the movie Cool Runnings.
[edit] Team lineup
[edit] Previous
In subsequent years after their initial success, the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team consisted of:
| Position | Teammate |
|---|---|
| Captain/Driver | Innes Sandy |
| Braker | Jason Zimmer |
| Clive McDonald | |
| Skeleton | |
| Manager | Stephen Fisher |
[edit] Current
The current team consists of:[7]
| Position | Teammate |
|---|---|
| Pusher | Marvin Dixon |
| Driver | Sam Thomasi |
| Braker | Joel Alexander |
| Skeleton | Rindy Loucks |
| Manager | Jassica Thomasi |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c "Interview with Devon 'Pele' Harris Jamaica Bobsled Team Member". Jamaicans.com. February 1, 2005. http://www.jamaicans.com/articles/primeinterviews/interviewdevonharris.shtml.
- ^ YouTube Video of 1988 Jamaica Bobsled Team crashing
- ^ 1992 Olympic Men's Bobsled Fours Results
- ^ 1992 Olympic Men's Bobsled Doubles Results
- ^ 1994 Olympic Men's Bobsled Fours Results
- ^ "Winter Olympics: Jamaica, we have a bobsled team". TVNZ. January 29, 2010. http://tvnz.co.nz/2010-winter-olympics/jamaica-we-have-bobsled-team-3345013. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Official Website of the Jamaica Bobsleigh Team
[edit] External links
- Jamaicans.com
- Official Website for the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team
- Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation
- Video Interview With Devon Harris
- Devon Harris' interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio
- Jamaican bobsled team new home Pemberton
- Visa 2010 Winter Olympics commercial on YouTube featuring photos and footage of the Jamaican team debut at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.
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