Ja bobsledders look to create own legacy in Beijing
Published:Friday | February 4, 2022 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
One group of Jamaican bobsledders hope to put their own stamp on the future, inspired by the 1988 team that made its Winter Olympics debut. And an alpine skier hopes that he blazes a trail for other young Jamaicans to follow.
Their operations and goals will be put to the test at the 2022 Winter Olympics, which officially begins today in Beijing, China, with the opening ceremony (6:30 a.m. Jamaica time). Some action has already started at the Games with preliminary-round matches in men’s and women’s hockey and men’s and women’s moguls. It will be the second straight Games (Summer or Winter) that will be operated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 2,000 athletes scheduled to take part from 91 countries.
Jamaica will enter the Games fielding the most teams for bobsled in its history, participating in the Women’s Monobob and the Men’s two-man and four-man events. Jamaica will be fielding a four-man team for the first time since 1998, ending a 24-year drought. The four-man team will consist of Shanwayne Stephens, Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson, and Matthew Wekpe. Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian will be participating in the Women’s Monobob in her third straight Games.
Benjamin Alexander will make history, becoming the first alpine skier to represent Jamaica at a Winter Olympics.
Adamant about creating their own legacy, Stephens says that they want to ensure that they are more than just the movie adaptation Cool Runnings, which portrayed the ‘real-life story’ of Jamaica’s Winter Olympic debut in Calgary 1988 when the four-man bobsled competed.
“Everybody who relates to Jamaica bobsled always says Cool Runnings. So I sort of said that we are more than just a movie. The guys in 1988 and 1998 left an absolutely massive legacy for us. For me, personally, to be able to go out and show people that Jamaica is here, to actually perform and compete with the best athletes in the world, is a massive thing,” Stephens said. “I would like to see Jamaica bobsled being portrayed as real good athletes competing at a high level and competing for medals. That is how I want Jamaica bobsled to be seen.”
For Reid, a former Kingston College teacher who quit his job to chase his Olympic dream, a top-ten finish would be a deserving reward for the hard work they have put in.
“It was a risk I took, and I am happy to say it has been rewarding. So I am happy to say that I have no regrets at this point. I think that would be the ultimate goal to finish in the top ten or whatever place we can get. If we can get a medal, that would be great as well,” Reid said.
Meanwhile, Alexander is being realistic about his expectations at the Games. In an interview in The Gleaner on January 18, Alexander said that he hoped to be the catalyst for more Jamaican skiers to fulfil their Olympic dream.
“I expect to finish at the back (Olympics). I am at a massive disadvantage. Athletes I will be competing against have been skiing for 25 years and probably had millions of dollars put into their training. Some will show up with 20 pairs of skis with full-time technicians to assess conditions and tell them which ski to wear for the day,” Alexander said “I will show up with one ski, so I cannot compete against these guys. Impossible. But I can show it is possible to participate and blaze a path for Jamaicans to get involved in the sport much earlier.”