Jamaican bobsledding team biography images

1988 jamaican bobsled team

The Jamaican four-man bobsled team debuted to the surprise of the entire world at the 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 and the novelty of having a tropical country compete in a cold-weather sport. 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 with it 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. The team returned to the Olympics in the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, but finished poorly.

They qualified again for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. There, the Jamaican four sled team stunned many of their critics by finishing in 14th place, ahead of the United States, Russia, Australia, France and one sled from Italy.