Paul Wright | Ja bobsled needs to clear the air

Last week Wednesday's edition of The Gleaner carried a story about icy relations between representatives of a Japanese group called the Shitamachi Project, who claims that the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation reneged on an agreement signed in July 2016 to make, design and supply three sleds to the federation for use by the male and female teams.

According to the claim, one of the sleds was for use by the female bobsledders, who had qualified for the Winter Olympics held earlier this year in PyeongChang, South Korea; one was for the male team; and one was modified for use by Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, our female driver in PyeongChang.

The facts regarding the use of a sled during the Olympics are clouded by controversy, as the dramatic last-minute removal/

dismissal of the coach of our female bobsledders in South Korea, days before our team was due on the ice, brought the identity of the sled used by our ladies into sharp focus. Sandra Kiriasis, a world, European and Olympic champion, played a role in guiding our ladies to the Olympics, only to be told (according to Ms Kiriasis) that her role as driving coach was changed from coach to track performance analyst.

This 'demotion' angered Ms Kiriasis, who promptly resigned and wanted to take away the sled used by our ladies. The sled that was being used was rented/leased from Winterberg bobsleigh track and when Ms Kiriasis claimed ownership, Jamaican beer company Red Stripe essentially purchased a new sled for the federation.

However, despite claims to the contrary, all that happened was that the local federation paid for the same sled previously used by the team. Therefore, no Japanese sled was in fact used by the female team at the Winter Olympics. As the article in The Gleaner stated, it is not clear if our local Bobsled Federation has been sued. Hopefully this 'icy relation' can be warmed and a court appearance becoming unnecessary.

Since the historic qualification of our ladies - Carrie Russell, Audra Segree and Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian - to compete in their first Winter Olympics, there seems to be controversy after controversy. This news report is only one of three major occurrences during and after the Games.

The fans of Jamaica's bobsled teams are still not sure what caused Ms Kiriasis to leave the team so abruptly, causing John Jackson, a former Great Britain great bobsled driver, to posit that "internal bickering with the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation" would adversely affect the ladies performance in the Olympics. We were certainly not expected to medal, but to finish 19th of the competing teams was indeed disappointing.

Ms Kiriasis claims that she got on well with the team, while the head of the group in South Korea, Christian Stokes, is quoted as saying that the coach "was a hugely destructive force on the team. Now that she is off the team, synergy is much better, tension is down, and athletes are now able to focus in a much healthier environment".

WHAT REALLY OCCURRED?

Then, on March 2 this year, news broke that one of our girls tested positive for a banned substance during a race in Switzerland in January. We know that the athlete requested that her 'B' sample be tested. As far as I am aware, the country is yet to know the results of that test, and if any sanctions were levelled on the athlete and/or the country.

I think that now is the time for the hierarchy of Jamaica's Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, to hold a press conference and clear up these (lingering) insinuations, thereby fostering renewed confidence in the athletes and the sport, thus enabling them to garner much-more needed financial and emotional support.

- Dr Paul Wright is a noted sports medicine specialist and media personality.