In the midst of President Putin derisive comments and Russia's hardening stance on homosexual athletes, the uplifting stories have been pushed to the side. They may not receive as much pub as Lolo Jones, but the Jamaican bobsled team returning to the Winter Olympics for the first time in 12 years after qualifying on Saturday is just as monumental. It's been 14 years since the '88 Olympic team inspired the film Cool Runnings.
The International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation won't confirm until Sunday how many nations qualified, but on Saturday Sochi officials tweeted out that the Jamaicans were in. Unlike Cool Runnings, the Jamaicans were only able to qualify in the two-man bobsled competition.
"We're pretty good," 46-year-old sled drive Winston Watts said recently. "We're not there with the rest of the world, of course. But if we had some more sources for funding, we'd have a better chance."
Given how well track athletes have converted to the bobsled, the lack of wintery conditions isn't all that has prevented Jamaica from being a serious competitor every four years. There is one last hurdle for the Jamaican team to leap. Watts told the AP on Saturday that the team is $80,000 short of the funds needed to cover travel and equipment costs.
However, they sound confident that the $80,000 will be raised in time. Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time!
