Jamaica has qualified for the four-man Olympic bobsled event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, bringing back memories of the team that inspired 'Cool Runnings.'
The original four-man Jamaican bobsled team famously trained with a slapped-together sled on a concrete track in preparation for the Calgary Games. The athletes had never even seen a bobsled before.
“I remember saying to myself, ‘Nobody could ever get me to go on one of those things,’’’ original team member Devon HarrisTheir underdog story became a highlight of the Olympics despite finishing 30th in the two-man sled and crashing at 85 mph in the four-man sled. The crash disqualified them, but the team drew a roar from the crowd when they got out of the sled and walked to the finish line.
Chris Stokes, who was a member of that famous team, is now the president of Jamaica's bobsled federation. Jamaica qualified in at least one men's bobsled event from 1988-2002, but then didn't send any teams until anotherOne of the team members, Winston Watts, was 46 at the time, which was eight years older than any other bobsledder in history who qualified for the Olympics. He was working in oil fields in Wyoming when teammate and friend Lascelles “King” Brown recruited him to make a run at an Olympic spot. The pair finished 28th out of 29 teams in Sochi.
The Jamaican women qualified in the bobsled for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, but no men's teams made the field.Benjamin AlexanderThe highest Olympic finish for a Jamaican men's bobsled team is 14th, so the newest group is hoping to beat that mark and add another feel-good story to the one that made them famous 29 years ago.Scott Stump is a New Jersey-based freelancer who has been a regular contributor for TODAY.
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