Jamaica offered record three spots in Winter Olympics

JAMAICA were offered three places in the bobsleigh programme at next month’s Winter Olympic Games following the end of the qualifying period on Sunday, the most spots ever since the island started competing at the Winter Olympics.

Jamaica were offered places in the women’s monobob as well as the two-man and four-man bobsleigh and there is a possibility of a fourth spot going to the two-woman bobsleigh as well.

It will be the first time the four-man sled was qualifying for the Olympics, since 1998, 24 years ago at the Nagano Games after their now famous debut at the 1988 Games.

The offers were confirmed on Monday and the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation has called a press conference for today where it is expected that the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) will confirm the spots.

The two-woman sled missed out on an automatic spot by one place, tied on 674 points with France, who has World Cup points which is a tiebreaker, it was explained on Monday.

Nelson Christian Stokes, president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, told the Jamaica Observer on Monday that he has asked the JOA to request a reallocation for the two-woman if it becomes available. “We are next in line,” he said.

The spots in the Olympics are to be confirmed by Wednesday.

Both the two-man and four-man teams were the 28th and final qualifiers in their events, while the monobob will be contested at the Games for the first time.

At least one Jamaican men’s sled competed in every Olympics from 1988 through 2002, then again in 2014, with a best finish of 14th place.