The 1988 Winter Olympics, put Calgary on the world stage. Canadian athletes won medals and made our country proud. But it was an unlikely team from the sunny island of Jamaica that made history and captured people’s hearts worldwide.
The Jamaican bobsled team, consisting of Dudley Stokes, Michael White, and Devon Harris, defied all odds and brought their unshakeable spirit and determination to the icy tracks of Calgary.
The journey of the Jamaican bobsled team began with a dream and a vision.
After witnessing a local pushcart derby in Kingston, Jamaica, George B. Fitch and businessman William Maloney were inspired to create a Jamaican bobsled team.
George was the Commercial Attache for the American embassy in Kingston from 1985 to 1986. The pair believed the depth of quality Jamaican sprinters could be easily adapted to bobsledding.
“You got great athletes, and a great athlete should be able to do any sport,” George said in a conversation with John Barnes, a former superstar for the Liverpool football team.
Unable to successfully recruit athletes for their bobsled team, George and William turned to the Jamaican Defence Force for volunteers.
Dudley Stokes, Michael White, and Devon Harris were recruited in 1987, with teammate Caswell Allen added later.
With the 1988 Winter Olympics in sight, the team challenged the belief that bobsledding was only for athletes from cold-weather countries.
Right out of the gate, the Jamaican bobsled team faced challenges, including limited resources and no prior experience in the sport.
Initially, the team practiced their push-start in a pushcart on a military base in Jamaica.
But with funding from George and the Jamaica Tourist Board, the team could train in Canada and Austria under coach Sepp Haidacher, an Austrian bobsled coach regarded as the Godfather of Jamaican bobsledding. nj
The team arrived in Calgary months before the 1988 Winter Olympics. During this time, they began conducting test runs on a frozen lake to get used to the icy conditions. But three days ahead of the competition, Caswell fell and was injured.
Chris Stokes, who was in Canada to support his brother, rose to the occasion and filled in for Caswell despite having never been in a bobsled.
The Performance Of A Lifetime
On February 20, 1988, the Jamaica bobsled team made their Olympic debut, with Dudley and Michael leading the charge in the two-man bobsled event.
In case you’ve forgotten – or never knew – bobsled events consist of four runs down the track. In their first run, Dudley and Michael finished in 34th place.
The pair fearlessly hurtled down the icy track for three more runs, finishing in 30th place out of 41 teams. Not bad for a team that had only been on the ice a few. times.
Unfortunately, the four-man event did not go as smoothly for the Reggae Boyz.
In their first run, the bobsled’s push bar broke after Dudley jumped into the sled, causing the team to finish in 24th place. Their second attempt wasn’t much better, partly due to Michael struggling to crouch correctly in his seat.
But the team’s third run was the most punishing. Dudley injured his shoulder before the race but decided to compete anyways. With no one to fill in for him, what choice did he have?
At a turn called the Kreisel, Dudley lost control of the bobsled, and it crashed into the wall of the track, flipping over on top of the team.
Despite this, the team gathered their spirits and walked alongside the bobsled as it was pushed to the finish line. Unfortunately, the team was listed as not finishing and was placed last in the event.
Mexico and New Zealand were the other countries with little or no snow that competed in Calgary.
The unlikely bobsled team’s inspiring story was loosely reenacted in the 1993 Walt Disney classic movie “Cool Runnings,” starring John Candy.
But the Jamaican Blobsled team’s fish-out-of-water didn’t end there. Dudley and his brother Chris went on to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics. With their new teammates Winston Watts and Wayne Thomas, the team came in 14th place, ahead of the United States, Russia, and France.
The legacy of the Jamaica bobsled team continues to inspire generations. Their participation in the Winter Olympics paved the way for future Jamaican athletes to excel in winter sports.
Jamaican sledders have had to get by with minimal support and little snow. Just look at what current team members Shanwayne Stephens and Nimroy Turgott had to do when COVID-19 lockdowns were still in place. The pair had to train by pushing a Mini Cooper.
“The car is a similar weight to our sled, which can weigh up to (496 pounds) so it’s helpful for training, although Amy (Stephens’ fiancée at the time) has warned us not to crash it,” Shanwayne told People.
And the tradition continues. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Shanwayne and Nimroy achieved 30th place in the two-man and earned 28th place in the four-man.
Fond memories of Jamaica’s first bobsled team remind us that the Olympic Games are not just about winning medals but also about the spirit of camaraderie, sportsmanship, and the pursuit of personal excellence.
