The Jamaican Four-Man Bobsled Team Has Qualified For The 2022 Winter Olympics
It's the first time Jamaica will have a four-man bobsled team in 24 years after last appearing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
By Stewart Perrie
A crew of Jamaican bobsledders will be representing their country at this year's Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
A four-man bobsled team made it into the top 28 places and qualified for the 2022 Games.
It's the first time Jamaica will have a four-man bobsled team in 24 years after last appearing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
They'll be heading to Beijing next month to compete against the world's best.
Jamaica has also qualified for the two-man and women's monobob bobsled events as well, which is the first time ever that the country has sent three bobsled teams to an Olympics.
The country narrowly missed out on a chance to also secure a spot in the two-woman bobsled event thanks to a tiebreak, however they could still get in if another nation gives up their spot, according to NBC.
It's widely tipped that Shanwayne Stephens will pilot the sled at the Olympics, while Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson and Matthew Wekpe are expected to join as push sledders.
Their final event of the season saw them get a top-five finish at the North American Cup.
Watson has revealed he's been picked to go to Beijing and has thanked everyone for their support after a difficult 2021 season.
"A childhood dream has come a reality," he wrote on Facebook. "I gave up on this dream a few years back although I knew the elite athlete in me hasn't died yet and had unfinished business.
"Blood, sweat and tears went into this and it has paid off! Best day of my sporting career!
"I was honoured to selected to compete in 13 out of the 16 races this season and gave it all I had."
The Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is now looking to get funds to be able to buy the sleds needed for the Olympic Games.
They'll need close to $200,000 to get two monobobs and a four-man bobsled.
The world has been not-so-quietly obsessed with Jamaica at the Winter Olympic thanks to Cool Runnings.
The iconic Disney film was based off the first ever Jamaican bobsled team to attend a Winter Games back in 1988 in Calgary, Canada.
The four-man team famously failed to finish, however it sparked an army of fans around the world and now we get to see them in action again this year.
Jamaica has sent at least one men's sled in every Olympics from 1988 to 2002 and then once again in 2014.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@TeamJA876Topics: olympics, Jamaica, Australia, Winter Olympics, bobsled, olympics, Jamaica, Australia, Winter Olympics, bobsled
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