Jamaica's Bobsleigh Team Powers Towards Milano Cortina 2026

“Nuff people say, you know they can't believe, Jamaica, we have a bobsleigh team.” So goes the iconic tone in the film Cool Runnings, which sports fans from the Caribbean island will be able to sing once more at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. That is because Jamaican athletes have earned quota places* in three sliding events – women’s monobob, men’s two-man, and men’s four-man – according to an announcement by Jamaica Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (JBSF). Mica Moore will represent the nation in women’s monobob, while a combination of pilot Shane Pitter and push athletes Andrae Dacres, Junior Harris, Tyquendo Tracey, and Joel Fearon will fill the two-man and four-man sleds. “This achievement reflects sustained excellence, commitment, and international competitiveness on the world stage,” said the announcement from the JBSF. “[It] confirms Jamaica as one of the most consistent tropical nations in winter sport.” The island nation first rose to international fame during the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics, when Dudley Stokes, Michael White, Devon Harris, and Chris Stokes became the first athletes from Jamaica to compete in bobsleigh at a Games. Their exploits inspired the Hollywood film Cool Runnings, which increased interest in the team and helped grow the sport outside of traditional winter sports nations. In recent years, Jamaica has become a regular feature in bobsleigh competitions at the Olympic Games. The team competed in the two-man event at Sochi 2014, debuted in the two-woman event at PyeongChang 2018 and qualified for three events at Beijing 2022. However, the 2025-26 season has seen the programme rise to historic new heights, with pilot Shane Pitter and brakemen Andrae Dacres, Junior Harris, and Tyquendo Tracey claiming the nation’s first-ever North American Cup victory at Whistler in November. Since then, they’ve topped the podium on seven occasions. And while Jamaica has never finished better than 14th in any bobsleigh event at the Olympic Games, this year’s crop of athletes will hope to push the objective even further for future generations of sliders. Win or lose, they’ll do well to remember the enduring words of Cool Runnings coach Irv Blitzer: “A gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without one, you'll never be enough with one.” Bobsleigh at Milano Cortina 2026 will take place at the Cortina Sliding Centre from 12-22 February.