From the beach to bobsledding: the story of the Jamaican bobsledding team
Ian Johnson, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Engin Akyurt on Unsplash
Every four years, the Olympic Winter Games occur. Alongside these games are motivating and inspiring stories that show the resilience of the athletes competing. One of the most unlikely stories is of the Jamaican bobsledding team.
The country first sent a bobsledding team in 1988. This team consisted of four men who were inexperienced at bobsledding. Before the first race, one of the men got injured and was replaced by a sprinter just hours before competing. In their first competition, they crashed and did not finish the race. In the second competition, the team finished the race 30 out of 41 teams (History).
The impact they had is remembered more than the results. In 1993, Disney created “Cool Runnings,” a movie that is based off the Jamaican bobsledding teams’ journey and experience at the Olympics. While the movie is based on the team’s story, the movie doesn’t stick completely to the true event.
The team continued to participate in the Winter Games over the next three competitions. The team returned to the Olympics in 2014 and have been participating since. In 2018, the Jamaican women’s bobsled team made their debut at the Olympics and finished 18th.
In 2026, the team went into the Olympics with hopes of getting a medal. In years past, this would have seemed impossible but this team is full of experience and talent. In November 2025, the team earned its first gold medal in an international bobsleigh race at the North American Cup in Whistler. (IBSF)
While the team was competing in the North American Cup, Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica. The team persevered and earned gold that same month.
Over the month of February, the Jamaican team competed in four events. In the four-man event, the event that they are known for, they finished 21. The highest place earned by the Jamaicans was 14 in the Women’s Monobob.
Though the team has high expectations, they are still a new team to the sport. Shane Pitter, the pilot of the four and two-man sleds, was a fisherman before joining the Olympic team in 2022. Tyquendo Tracey, another member of the bobsledding team, was an Olympic sprinter. Tracey competed in the Tokyo 2020.
Despite the team not medaling, the motivation is still there. The team looks forward to the 2030 and 2034 games with the same goal of earning a medal. (NBC)
