For the first time since 2002, it looks like Jamaica will have a bobsled team in the Winter Olympics.
Jamaica’s two-man sled of Winston Watts and Marvin Dixon needed to be in the top 30 of the world rankings as of Jan. 20 in order to qualify for the Sochi Games, and they accomplished that with a clean run at qualifying in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Because the team is ranked 30th in the world, the Sochi Games announced on Twitter Saturday that the Jamaican sled qualified for the competition next month. However, things are not official until the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation announces the field of competition.
That didn’t stop Team Jamaica from sending this awesome tweet on Saturday:
#BREAKING: Jamaica's 2 man Bobsled qualified for Winter Olympics in Sochi . CONGRATULATIONS!!!! #JamaicaBobsled pic.twitter.com/Ns1nnhqn9b
— Team Jamaica (@JamaicaOlympics) January 18, 2014
What’s ironic about the story is that much like the fantastic 1993 movie “Cool Runnings” about the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, this team says it needs funding in order to participate in Sochi. Watts told The Associated Press that he is aiming to raise $80,000 to cover travel and equipment costs and he’s hoping the country’s Olympic federation will step up and sponsor them now that they’ve qualified.
I don’t even think Watts needs to worry about that. If every fan of “Cool Runnings” donated a dollar to the cause, you know how much money they’d raise? A heck of a lot more than Sanka Coffee did singing on the street.
Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it’s bobsled time!
