Jamaica’s bobsleigh team have qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics next month – making it the first time in 24 years the country’s four-man team will participate.
The much-anticipated games will mark the first time that Jamaica has qualified for three different bobsleigh events, securing their place in the four-man, two-man sled and women’s monobob categories.
Their four-man team took the final spot in the 28-sled field in qualification, which is the first time since 1998 that the event will have Jamaican representation in the category.
After losing a tiebreaker, the two-woman spot was not available. But they may still be able to travel to China as the first alternative if any of their qualified countries give up their spots.
Jamaica’s Bobsleigh team has qualified to the Beijing Winter Olympics. This will be the first time that the four-man Jamaican team has participated in the Olympics for 24 years.
The much-anticipated games will mark the first time that Jamaica has qualified for three different bobsleigh events, securing their place in the four-man, two-man sled and women’s monobob categories
The last time Jamaica had a four-man sled was at the 1998 Nagano Games, which they failed to finish and provided the storyline for the 1993 Disney film Cool Runnings (pictured)
Twitter confirmed that Team Jamaica had received the information. The account was dedicated to Cool Runnings (1993 Disney film) and the quote “It Will Be Fire on Ice” (which was inspired at 1988 Calgary Winter Games).
The account wrote: ‘Jamaica, we have a bobsled team heading to Beijing!
#TeamJamaica secures their spot in the #WinterOlympics 2022 Beijing.
The first Jamaican bobsled team to qualify in the Olympic events is this year. These are the two-man, four-man and women’s monobob.
Beijing 2022 announced that there would be no general sales of tickets because of concerns about Covid.
Team Jamaica tweeted the confirmation. It paid tribute to Cool Runnings 1993 Disney film, which was inspired at 1988 Calgary Winter Games.
Instead, plans are for an “adapted program that invites groups of spectators on site during Games”, though in much smaller numbers. It was already ruled out that tickets would be sold to spectators from abroad.
The last time Jamaica had a four-man sled spot was at the 1998 Nagano Games, which they failed to finish, and included teammate brothers Chris and Dudley Stokes.
Chris – who provided inspiration for the Disney film with his book Cool Runnings and Beyond about his team’s Olympic competition – is now the president of Jamaica’s Bobsled Federation.
Shanwayne Stephens is expected to pilot the four-man sled and could be joined by Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson and Matthew Wekpe, who have been push athletes in all of Stephens’ four-man races this season.
The RAF gunner went viral over lockdown and even made the Queen laugh when he shared his pandemic training regime of pushing a Mini Cooper up and down through the streets of Peterborough in 2020.
Corporal Shanwayne Stephens described to Queen his efforts to maintain fitness and to train while in lockdown.
The Queen spoke to Jamaica-born Lance Corporal Stephens (pictured), who joined RAF in 2011 and is based at RAF Northolt, and is trained in forced protection with specialisation as a sniper
Peterborough residents helped Shanwayne Stephens & Nimroy Torgott push a Mini on the roads as they practise for bobsleighing at lockdown
He was shocked to discover the strange method and laughed, remarking “Oh”.
Her Majesty smiled and said, “Well, that’s just one way to train.”
Her conversation with Lance Corporal Stephens came as the Queen held a video call from Windsor Castle with members of the Armed Forces based across the globe.
She replied, “Gosh. It sounds like a dangerous job,’ she replied when Lance Corporal Stephens explained to her that he was pilot for the Jamaican Bobsleig.
Then she asked, “So, how do you train?”He replied, revealing his unconventional methods to her.
Lance Corporal Stephens from the Queen’s Colour Squadron is one of three military personnel to have spoken with the monarch as she learned about their work at home as well as overseas during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
According to the Queen’s sign-in name, “Windsor UK”, the queen said that everyone had been very busy dealing with the pandemic. She also stated, “Everybody has done a great job.”