Jamaica’s 4-Man Bobsled Team Qualifies for 1st Winter Olympics in 24 Years

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Jamaica has qualified for the four-man bobsled event at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 24 years.

Per OlympicTalk, Jamaica got the 28-sled field’s final spot based on this season’s international results.

In addition, Jamaica has also qualified for three bobsled events for the first time. The country will be competing in the two-man bobsled event as well as the women’s monobob, which is making its Olympic debut.

Benjamin Alexander will also make Olympic history as Jamaica’s first ever competitor in Alpine skiing.

Jamaica made its first Winter Olympic appearance in 1988, when the Games were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Caribbean nation competed in the two-man and four-man bobsled events, with the team’s exploits inspiring the 1993 Disney film, Cool Runnings.

Jamaica has appeared in every Winter Olympics since then outside of the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy. Bobsled teams competed in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2002. The four-man team’s last appearance occurred at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Errol Kerr then became the first Jamaican to compete in the Winter Olympics outside bobsledding when he took part in the men’s ski cross, finishing ninth in 2010.

Jamaica’s two-man bobsled team returned for the 2014 Games. Carrie Russell and Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian then made history by becoming the first women to represent Jamaica at the Winter Olympics, serving as the two-woman bobsled team in 2018.

Fenlator-Victorian will return this year in the women’s monobob as Jamaica competes in four Winter Olympics events for the first time ever.

This year’s Games, which will occur in Beijing, are slated to begin on Fri., Feb. 4.