Feel the Rhythm Feel The Rhyme! Jamaican Bobsled Team Qualifies for Beijing Winter Olympics
DYOR Dave
In just over two weeks, the Winter Olympics will kick off in Beijing, and although much of the attention has been on the political tensions that surround the games, there is a far happier narrative emerging from the Caribbean.
For the first time since 1998, a four-man Jamaican Bobsled team has qualified for the Winter Olympics, as well as qualifying in two-man and woman’s monobob for the first time.
While their best result so far was 14th in 1994, the team is hopeful that they can make their nation proud across all three events this year.
The four-man sled will be captained by former military officer Shanwayne Stephens, who garnered attention during lockdown with his exercise routine of pushing a Mini Cooper through the city streets.
The Bobsled team first qualified in 1988 for the Calgary Olympics but finished 30th out of 41 nations after crashing during their last run.
Despite this, they gained popularity due to their loveable misfit status which led to other nations donating more modern sleigh parts to the Jamaican team.
Their unlikely story inspired the 1993 film Cool Runnings, which has since shone a spotlight on Jamaican Winter Olympic Athletes and gained the tropical nation a tremendous following around the world every four years.
Since then, the Bobsled team has competed in a handful of Olympic Games, including 2014 which they may have not attended were it not for a crowdfunding campaign set up by the Dogecoin Cryptocurrency community.
The Bobsled events will kick off on the 13th of February, and it’s fair to say that as the Jamaicans line up to compete, there will be chants around the world of “I see Pride, I see Power, I see a badass mother who don’t take no crap from nobody!”
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