No Cool Runnings for Jamaican bobsleigh team in Vancouver
Posted: Thursday 4th February 2010 | 19:06
SO much for kissing the lucky egg, the Jamaican bobsleigh team have kissed goodbye to their hopes of competing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
At the Whistler Sliding Centre later this month, the world will indeed have to believe that Jamaica do not have a bobsleigh team.
It is now 22 years since the first Jamaican bobsleigh team at the Calgary 1988 Games which then inspired the 1993 hit film Cool Runnings.
But the list of those teams that have qualified for this month's Winter Olympics in Vancouver has been finalised and alas, the Caribbean island are not on it.
And the news has come as a devastating blow.
"We've been in battles for many, many years," Chris Stokes, a founding member of the Jamaican bobsled team more than 20 years ago, told the AP.
"This is one more. But it's disappointing, no question about that. The guys worked really hard and did well. Not qualifying, it's by no means a failure. It's a step going forward."
All hope is not completely lost and should sufficient sleds drop out of the running then Jamaica may get the nod, but they are not holding their breath.
Under-funded and using substandard equipment, the Jamaican four-man sled came agonisingly close to qualifying against the odds with driver Hannukkah Wallace sneaking into the top 50 in the world.
And Stokes is convinced that Wallace will bounce back from this disappointment and can draw on inspiration from a trip to Vancouver as a spectator.
"This is Hannukkah's third year driving," Stokes said. "People in the sport would say you need five, seven, maybe even ten years to get to a certain level.
"It's very important for the team to go and see. They'll remember what the Games are like and watch the start line of a four-man Olympic race and feel that adrenaline. I hope it acts as a motivation for them."
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Originally Posted by GeneChing
