Meet Jamaica's Olympic bobsled team: How 2026 compares to 1988 team that inspired 'Cool Runnings' movie
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Jamaica is back in the news ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics. You can probably guess the reason why.
Thirty-eight years on from captivating the masses at the 1988 Calgary Games, the Jamaican bobsled team will return to the ice in 2026. Predictably, this year’s side features some different faces — a mix of mainland Jamaicans and athletes who have found success across the diaspora.
Jamaica has emerged as the Caribbean’s foremost bobsled powerhouse in the years since it made its Olympic debut. Its rise was chronicled — perhaps somewhat inaccurately — in the 1993 Disney film, 'Cool Runnings.' Nearly four decades on, that original team’s impact lingers — though it predates most of the athletes who make up this year’s roster.
With that, here’s what you need to know about Jamaica’s latest Olympic bobsled representatives, a team hoping to chart its own legacy in 2026 and beyond.
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Jamaican bobsled team 2026
The 2026 iteration of the Jamaican bobsled team will send three sleds to Milan Cortina, having qualified with the two-man team of former Olympic sprinter Tyquendo Tracey and pilot Shane Pitter, the four-man mix of Pitter, Tracey, Andrae Dacres, Junior Harris, Nimroy Turgott and Joel Fearon as well as Mica Moore, who will serve as the country's lone representative in the women's monobob.
The side is a motley crew of talents. Tracey is a former national champion in the 100m who raced with Usain Bolt. Pitter was a converted fisherman who has developed into “the most talented young pilot I’ve ever seen” in the space of three years, says Jamaican Bobsleight Federation president Chris Stokes. Moore turned out for Team Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics before switching allegiances in 2025.
Then, there's its executive. If Stokes name sounds familiar, that's because it is. He was a member of that storied 1988 side, immortalized for all to see in "Cool Runnings" -- albeit with some creative liberties being taken.
“Is it a documentary? No. Is it historical? No. But it’s entertaining, inspirational and it has stood the test of time,” Stokes told The Guardian in 2026. “People draw strength from it. It has changed people’s lives, opened doors, and it is certainly a massive asset we have that we continue to leverage. The only circumstance I see surpassing it is making the Olympic podium.”
That's not as far-fetched as it might sound. Under Stokes' tutelage, Jamaica is hoping to capture a medal by the 2034 Olympics. The Jamaicans remain outside favorites to land an ornament this time around. But they're on the right track, having returned to Olympic competition in 2022 after a 24-year absence.
Recent displays -- including landing a trio of gold medals in the weeks preceding its trip to Milan Cortina -- indicate Jamaica is on the rise.
“At the Olympics, you have a chance to do something amazing,” Turgott told Sports Illustrated. “For the French Alps 2030 Olympics, we want to qualify two sleds in each category and challenge for medals. Initially, the aim to get a medal was for Salt Lake City 2034, but the progress that Shane has made as a pilot makes that reality even closer.”
Jamaica Bobsled Team 🇯🇲 has secured their spot in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina
— Team Jamaica (@TeamJA876) January 20, 2026
Monobob: Mica Moore
2-Man: Shane Pitter & Crew (Nimroy Turgott, Joel Fearon, Junior Harris)
4-Man: Shane Pitter & Crew (Andrae Dacres, Junior Harris, Tyquendo Tracey, Joel Fearon) pic.twitter.com/4e0w8cmpXD
Two-man and four-man
Jamaica is sending a two-man and four-man crew to this year's Olympics, with the two-man side anchored by Tracey and Pitter. The four-man crew will also feature Tracey and Pitter, as well as a mix of fellow bobsled standouts Andrae Dacres, Junor Harris, Nimroy Turgott and Joel Fearon.
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Monday, Feb. 16
Time (ET)EventHeat4:00 a.m.Two-man15:57 a.m.Two-man2Tuesday, Feb. 17
Time (ET)EventHeat1:00 p.m.Two-man33:05 p.m.Two-man4Saturday, Feb. 21
Time (ET)EventHeat4:00 a.m.Four-man15:57 a.m.Four-man2Sunday, Feb. 22
Time (ET)EventHeat4:00 a.m.Four-man36:15 a.m.Four-man4Monobob
Jamaica has a lone representative taking part in the monobob Mica Moore, a former Team Great Britain star from Wales who placed eighth in the two-women bobsled in the 2018 Olympics.
Moore faced racial and gender discrimination during her time on Team Great Britain. After returning from a temporary hiatus to serve as the team's pilot in 2022, Moore left the program for good. She secured Jamaican citizenship in Dec. 2024 and joined Jamaica's bobsled team in Jan. 2025. For her efforts, she was named a Jamaican flag-bearer during the opening ceremony.
Sunday, Feb. 15
Time (ET)EventHeat4:00 p.m.Women's monobob15:50 p.m.Women's monobob2Monday, Feb. 16
Time (ET)EventHeat1:00 p.m.Women's monobob33:06 p.m.Women's monobob4Jamaican bobsled team 1988
Jamaica's bobsled team first came onto the scene in 1988, just two years after businessman William Maloney and George B. Fitch, the Commercial Attache for the American embassy in Kingston, suggested that the Jamaica Olympic Association found a bobsled team. Fitch cited the country's prowess in track-and-field as reason to support the establishment of the side.
Advertisements were placed throughout the country, with the hope being that masses of Jamaican athletes would spring at the opportunity to don their national colors in the Winter Games.
That didn't quite happen. So, the Jamaica Olympic Association called in reinforcements, going to the country's army to call for volunteers.
Fitch partnered with the Jamaica Tourist Board to provide funding for the expedition. The team -- which consisted of Dudley Stokes, Devon Harris, Michael White and Chris Stokes -- was sent to Canada for training ahead of the 1988 Games.
Two-man:
- Dudley Stokes
- Michael White
Four-man:
- Dudley Stokes
- Devon Harris
- Michael White
- Chris Stokes
What place did the Jamaica bobsled team get in 1988?
Jamaica placed 30th out of 41 sides in the two-man event, with White and Dudley Stokes impressing in their maiden Games.
The four-man bobsled was more of an adventure. Chris Stokes, who initially came to Calgary to support brother Dudley, was called into action to replace Caswell Allen, who suffered an injury while the side conducted test runs on a frozen lake.
Jamaica's four-man crew showed speed early, posting the seventh-best start in its final run. But while attempting to ride the bend, Stokes lost control of his chariot. The bobsled veered into the wall of the track, flipping over top of the four-man team. The Jamaicans settled for a last-place finish in the competition.
When was the last time Jamaica had an Olympic bobsled team?
The last time Jamaica's bobsled team qualified for the Olympics was in 2022. That iteration of the side also sent three teams to the Olympics, although it failed to perform too brightly; the four-man crew of Shanwayne Stephens, Ashley Watson, Rolando Reid and Matthew Wekpe placed last in their first three runs before being cut adrift ahead of the fourth and final heat.
Similar results abound in the two-man and women's monobob competitions. Stephens and Turgott placed last in the 30-team field in the two-man event. Meanwhile, Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, a New Jersey-born veteran who took part in the 2014 and 2018 Games, finished 19th out of 20 competitors in monobob.
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Jamaica bobsled history in the Olympics
1988
Jamaica makes its Winter Olympic debut with two-men and four-men bobsled teams. The Jamaicans place 30th among 41 sides in the two-men before crashing out in the four-man en route to a last-place finish.
1992
Harris and Ricky McIntosh and the Stokes brothers combine enter into the 1992 games as two-men crews. They place 35th and 36th in the final standings, respectively.
In the four-man, the Stokes brothers, White and McIntosh finish 25th, far better than their 1988 outing.
1994
The Stokes brothers, Winston Watts and Wayne Thomas combine to finish a glistening 14th in the final standing.
1998
Harris returns to the cockpit in the two-man, this time alongside Michael Morgan. The Jamaicans nab a 29th-place finish in Nagano.
In the four-man, the Stokes brothers, Watts and Thomas post a respectable 21st-place finish.
2002
For the first time since the bobsled team's inception, the side is anchored by athletes not named Harris or Stokes. Watts and Lascelles Brown post a 29th-place result in the two-man event.
2014
Watts takes to the cockpit 20 years after his debut, partnering with Marvin Dixon in the two-man event. They finish in 27th place.
2018
Jamaica sends its first two-woman crew, with Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell combining for a 19th-place finish.
2022
Jamaica sends three representatives for the first time in its history. All three -- the four-man crew of Stephens, Reid, Watson and Wekpe; the two-man crew of Stephens and Turgott; and Fenlator-Victorian -- finish near the bottom of the standings.