KINGSTON — Jamaica
have qualified for three Olympic bobsleigh events for the first time ever,
their team said, setting the stage for a "Cool Runnings"-style
underdog drama to unfold at the
Beijing Games.
اضافة اعلان
For the first time in 24
years, Team Jamaica will send a four-man sled, the event which inspired the
popular film about the Caribbean country's first unlikely foray into the winter
sport.
"It will be fire on
ice," Team Jamaica said Monday on their official Twitter account.
"This will be the 1st time JAM has qualified in 3 Olympic bobsled events:
four-man, two-man and women's monobob".
But in a sign of the
challenges they face, the team have been trying to crowdfund $194,000 for new
equipment since late November, with an appeal called "Cool Sleds for the
Hottest Thing On Ice".
"(The athletes) are as
committed, hardworking, resilient, and talented as any, but without elite sleds
they can never reach their potential," the webpage reads.
"We don't want to be
drag racing in a Prius."
So far less than $4,000 has
been raised.
Jamaica also missed a
two-woman spot at Beijing on a tiebreaker, but could still make it as first alternate
if a qualified nation gives up a spot.
The country's bobsleigh team
made headlines with their improbable attempt at Olympic glory in Calgary
1988, and their story as told in the 1993 film captured imaginations around the
world.
Last minute team member
replacement Chris Stokes is now the president of
Jamaica's bobsleigh federation.
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