Jamaica seeks sliding success to replace ‘Cool Runnings’ past

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- Chris Stokes, a founding member of Jamaica's original "Cool Runnings" bobsleigh crew, recalls being mobbed by fans at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics the moment he put on the team jacket and left the athletes' village to go into town.

"That's a rookie mistake which I made," he recalls 38 years later, the buzz still echoing as the current quartet compete at the Milan Cortina Games.

"Even now, yesterday, when I came back from the track with the team in the van and they just opened the door to let me out, people saw Jamaica bobsleigh and we were absolutely mobbed," Stokes told Reuters.

"I myself go down the street in a plain black jacket. You want to be respectful of your fans and people who support the program, but you wouldn't get anywhere. You wouldn't get to the corner store to buy a coffee."

MAKING A MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE

The 2026 team was soon surrounded when it ventured recently into the chic Dolomites resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Stokes, now 62 and president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation, saw in it a motivational message.

"My 1994 team finished 14th at the Olympic Games. And until a team finishes higher than that at the Olympic Games, that team is the best Jamaican bobsled team ever. I've said this to the guys," he continued.

"I've also said to them, ‘Don't confuse yourselves. When you step out of the car and somebody's asking you for an autograph, it's because of something I and my teammates did. That's nothing that you have done.'

"My challenge to them is, by the end of these games, by the time you step on the track in 2030 in La Plagne (France) and in Salt Lake City in 2034, let people, fans, be crowding you because of something you did. That's my challenge to them."

IMMORTALIZED BY ‘COOL RUNNINGS'

The 1988 Jamaican bob, with Stokes joining his brother Dudley along with Devon Harris and Michael White, was immortalized in the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings," also the name of the sled.

Jamaica was classified last in 1988. By 1994 they had moved up to top half of the 30 entrants, beating the United States and Italy among others.

"Led by my brother, it took Jamaica Bobsleigh a long time to learn. Six, seven, eight years to learn that ... it's not just athleticism, it's discipline and focus, being present, playing your role. These guys (the current team) understand this from Day 1," said Stokes.

"We also have the benefit now of (coach) Todd Hays, who is himself a silver medalist and who has coached multiple medal winners for both the U.S. and Canada, who at one time coached Russia and who brings to the table a crystal-clear understanding of what it takes to win.

"Todd says to me all the time, ‘We know what we need to do to win. We know that already, so it's just a matter of putting the pieces in place.'"

--Reuters, special to Field Level Media