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ORIGINS Two Americans were largely responsible for the founding of the Jamaican Bobsled Team. George B. Fitch and William Maloney had family and business ties to Jamaica and after witnessing a Pushcart Derby they realized that it was very similar to Bobsled ding. Since bobsledding requires a fast start, Maloney and Fitch decided to use sprinters who are plentiful on the island nation of Jamaica. They originally tried to recruit Olympic -class sprinters but no one was interested so they presented their idea to Colonel Ken Barnes of the Jamaican military. The first four members of the Jamaican bobsled team were:
They were coached by New York native, Howard Siler, of Malone, NY. OLYMPICS The Jamaican four man Bobsled team debuted at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta . Their performance is best remembered for a violent crash during their final run. The team returned to the Olympics In the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France . The Jamaicans stunned many of their critics by finishing in 14th place, ahead of both United States teams, Russia , France and Italy . The two man team finished in tenth place, beating the Swedish team. In 2000 the Jamaicans won the Gold Medal at the World Push Bobsled Championships. The Jamaican Bobsled Team failed to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy . The 1988 team was the inspiration for a major motion picture, '' Cool Runnings '', featuring John Candy as the team's coach. The characters in the film are all fictional, and merely based on the real team. CURRENT JAMAICAN BOBSLED LINEUP The current Jamaican Bobsled Team is:
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