Jamaica national bobsled team
Encyclopedia
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
.
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
.
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.
The first four members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team were:
They were coached by Howard Siler
, of Malone, New York
.
in Calgary, Alberta. There they quickly became a fan favourite 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.
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. 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
.
In 2000, the Jamaican bobsleigh team won the gold medal
at the World Push Championships in Monaco. 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, Lascelles 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.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in international bobsledding competitions. The team first gained fame during their debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
in Calgary, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings is a 1993 comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsled team's debut in the bobsleigh competition of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. It stars Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and Rawle D...
.
Origins
George B. FitchGeorge B. Fitch
George B. Fitch is a business consultant and Republican politician. He is the mayor of Warrenton, Virginia, and ran in the 2005 Republican primary for the governorship of Virginia, a race which he lost to Jerry Kilgore. Having long had ties to Jamaica, Fitch was one of the co-founders of the...
and William Maloney, Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with family and business ties to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, were largely responsible for the founding of the Jamaican bobsleigh team. During a visit to the island they witnessed a pushcart derby
Pushcart derby
The Pushcart derby is a popular sporting event held every August in Jamaica where homemade carts that are used for street vending, to transport items or as a racing cart take part in races like the American soap box races...
and realized that pushcart racing is very similar to bobsledding
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
.
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
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
-class sprinters, but found little interest, so they presented their idea to Colonel Ken Barnes of the Jamaican military.
The first four members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team were:
- Devon HarrisDevon HarrisDevon Harris in a Jamaican retired bobsledder and military officer. He was one of the founding members of the Jamaica national bobsled team, which first competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta...
, 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
Howard Siler
Howard Siler is an American bobsledder who competed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. He won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1969 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York....
, of Malone, New York
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
.
Olympics
The Jamaican four-man bobsleigh team debuted at the 1988 Winter Olympics1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
in Calgary, Alberta. There they quickly became a fan favourite 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.
This team was the inspiration for a major motion picture, Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings is a 1993 comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsled team's debut in the bobsleigh competition of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. It stars Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and Rawle D...
featuring John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
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
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
in Albertville, France, but finished poorly. They qualified again for the 1994 Winter Olympics
Bobsleigh at the 1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympic Games Bobsleigh results- Two-man :February 19/February 20, 1994- Four-man :February 26/February 27, 1994- Medal table :- References :**...
in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. There, the Jamaican four sled stunned many of their critics by finishing in 14th place, ahead of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and one sled from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 2000, the Jamaican bobsleigh team won the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
at the World Push Championships in Monaco. 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
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Torino, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
or the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
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, Lascelles 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.
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 |
Current
The current team consists of:| Position | Teammate |
|---|---|
| Pusher | Marvin Dixon |
| Driver | Sam Thomasi |
| Braker | Joel Alexander |
| Skeleton | Rindy Loucks |
| Manager | Jassica Thomasi |
See also
- Tropical nations at the Winter OlympicsTropical nations at the Winter OlympicsAlthough traditionally associated with cold weather nations, the Winter Olympics have also had participation from several tropical nations. The typical climate of these nations is not conducive to participation in winter sports, and no Winter Olympic medals have ever been won by a tropical nation...
- Lascelles BrownLascelles BrownLascelles Brown is a Jamaican-born Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 1999 . Competing in three Winter Olympics, he is the first Jamaican-born athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal...
- Cool RunningsCool RunningsCool Runnings is a 1993 comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsled team's debut in the bobsleigh competition of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. It stars Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and Rawle D...
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 Olympics2010 Winter OlympicsThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
featuring photos and footage of the Jamaican team debut at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.