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Jamaica first competed in the Olympics at the 1948 Games in London. Three medals were won at those Olympics and since then the country has been regarded as a sprint powerhouse at the Olympic Games. That is why it came as such a shock to world in 1988 when Jamaica entered a bobsled team in the XVth Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Canada.
Many people thought it was a joke and most people believed that it was impossible for a country more popularly known as a tropical paradise to successfully field a team to compete in a winter sport.
Jamaica ’s entry into the Winter Olympics rode on the idea of two Americans who decided to take the sprinting talent that is so abundant in Jamaica and apply it to bobsledding. The members of the Jamaican sprint team at the time could not be convinced to take up the new sport of speed and ice so George Fitch and William Maloney turned their attention to the Jamaica Defence Force where they found three of the original members of the team. Captain Dudley Stokes, Lt Devon Harris and Private Micheal White. The fourth member of the team, Chris Stokes, the brother of Dudley joined the team later on.
The bobsled team was selected in September 1987 and did their initial training in Jamaica; practicing the push start on a flat concrete surface on the military base in Kingston using a make shift sled. From There they went to Calgary, Canada where they went down a bobsled track for the first time. After three weeks in Calgary it was off to Innsbruck Austria where they competed in two minor races before returning to Jamaica for the Christmas break. They spent the month of January in Lake Placid, New York before the Olympic Games in February 1988.
Despite the doubts and cynicism which surrounded their appearance in Calgary the team warmed the hearts of many around the world with the courage, determination and tenacity in which they competed in this brand new sport. Although they crashed in a very spectacular way in the third heat of the four man bobsled event; so spectacular was their performance that they were immortalized in the hit Disney movie “Cool Runnings”. Since then, the words “ Jamaica, we have a bobsled team” has been on the lips of all bobsled enthusiasts and lovers of Jamaica.
The 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team joined by some new team mates went on to compete in the 1992 Games of Albertville , France. The team showed dramatic improvement with former Brakeman turned driver, Devon Harris finishing 35 th from 50 starts in the two man event. The second Jamaican sled piloted by Dudley Stokes was 36th.
In 1994 the 4-man team finished in 14th place out of 30 sleds ahead of the US, French, Russian and Italians teams an event in which Jamaica was ranked 8th nation overall.
In the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan after a four year hiatus Devon Harris returned to post a 29th place finish from 42 starts in the two man bobsled event. The best finish Jamaica ever had in that event.
In 2000 and 2001, the Jamaican athletes team took gold at the World Bobsled Push Championships in Monte Carlo and at the 2002 Olympics in Salt lake City had the fastest start in the two man event.
Although the sled has been around for centuries as a mode of transportation, the sport of bobsled racing didn't begin until the late 19th century when the Swiss attached a steering mechanism to a toboggan.
In 1897, bobsled was started in Albany, N.Y. and was then introduced to Switzerland. This spurred the growth of the sport in winter resorts throughout Europe. By 1914, bobsled races were taking place on a wide variety of natural ice courses.
The first racing sleds were made of wood but were soon replaced by steel sleds that came to be known as bobsleds, so named because of the way crews bobbed back and forth to increase their speed on the straight ways.
In 1923, the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was founded and the following year a four-man bobsled race took place at the first ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. A two-man event was added at the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., a format that has remained to the present.
Bobsled racing began largely as an activity for the rich and adventurous who gathered at alpine resorts for weekends of competition and partying.
There was no such thing as training. Competitors simply bought or rented a sled, started out as a rider and then took the wheel after a few runs.
Until the advent of World Cup competition in the mid-1980s, bobsled success was determined solely by performance at the Olympics, World and European Championships. Since its inception, however, the World Cup series has added an exciting new dimension to the sport where versatility on different tracks and season-long consistency are rewarded.
Apart from the British influence in the sport's infancy, a strong U.S. presence from 1928 to 1956, and recent advances by other countries, bobsledding has been dominated largely by Europe's alpine nations over the years.
By far the most successful bobsledding nations have been Switzerland and Germany.
The Swiss have won more medals in Olympic, World and European championships and World Cup competitions than any other nation.
Bobs are sleds with 4 runners (1 pair of front runners, and a pair of rear runners), with which competitions are carried out on iced tracks. To drive the bob, only the pushing force of the team, when starting, and the force of gravity are admitted.
The two-man bob: 2 bobsledders
The four-man bob: 4 bobsledders
For bobsleds, it is forbidden to use plexiglas, transparent material and any material which may splinter as a result of an impact. The rear part of the bobsleds must be open.
The bobs have to be constructed under the responsibility of the bob producers so that the bobs stand the stress during the drive on the bob track.
Maximum weight of the bobs with team, including the equipment required is limited. The following is admitted:
The two-man bob: maximum weight 390 kgs
The four-man bob: maximum weight 630 kgs
Maximum weight admitted may be achieved by means of ballasts. Ballasts must be fastened to the bob firmly, and it must be possible to plumb them.
Following main dimensions and constructive elements of the bobs are fixed (all dimensions refer to bob without any load on a flat surface, if not specified to the contrary):
Gauge (c/c of opposite runners): The gauge is the same for the front and rear runners. 67 cm ± 0,1 cm.
The two-man bob: max. 270 cm
The four-man bob: max. 335 cm
Distance from the center of the front axle to the center of the rear axle (referred to the plane of symmetry of the bob):
The two-man bob: 169 cm ± 3 cm
The four-man bob: 213 cm ± 3 cm
The front portion of the bob must be provided with a continuous supporting frame made of steel.
During training and races, all bobsledders must wear a fully protective helmet, which has to comply with the minimum EEC safety rules. It is forbidden to apply aerodynamic elements to helmets.
Shorts and short sleeves are forbidden in all races.
It is forbidden to apply any extra aerodynamic element to the outside and/or beneath the competition clothing.
The use of spikes on shoes worn by team members to push the bobs is allowed, provided that spikes are arranged like a brush. The top of spikes may not be thicker than 1 mm; spikes may not be longer than 4 mm and they may not be arranged further than 3 mm from each other.
