​Jamaican Women's Bobsleigh Team To Take Part In Their First Winter Games

It's been 25 years since cult classic Cool Runnings - which was arguably one of the most iconic films to come out of the 90s.

Well, now we're getting some solid material for a potential sequel, as the Jamaican women's bobsleigh team get ready to take part in their first ever Winter Games.

The original film told the inspirational true tale of the coolest bobsleigh team on Earth, who first competed in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

Credit: Buena Vista Pictures

Jamaica has had a male team since 1988, when four army members were brought together by American businessman George Fitch, who was living on the Caribbean Island at the time.

Fitch and fellow businessman William Maloney were watching a local pushcart derby in the Blue Mountains, and thought it was a lot like bobsleighing. It was how they came up with the idea to assemble a Jamaican bobsleigh team.

Fast forward to 30 years later, and Jamaica's women's bobsleigh team are following in the footsteps of their male counterparts for the Pyeongchang Winter games this year.

According to the Jamaica Bobsleihg and Skeleton Federation, they sealed their qualification over the weekend - which means that now pilot Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, brakewoman Carrie Russell and Audra Segree are bound for South Korea, along with their German coach Sandra Kiriasis.

PA

It won't be the first apperance for 32-year-old Fenlator-Victorian, who represented the United States at Sochi in 2014 as a push-athlete. However, she switched to her father's native Jamaica in 2015.

"Pyeongchang will be my second appearance at the Winter Games, but it is just as special as my first," she said.

"This time I have the opportunity to represent my other home - Jamaica - and make history as the first female team representing the country in the Winter Olympic Games."

The men, unfortunately, didn't come out triumphant during their 1988 debut, so all eyes will be on the women's team to see if they can take home the top prize.

But whatever the outcome, thanks to the recent trend for classic films getting a modern female-led reboot - with Ghostbusters and Ocean's 8 just a couple of examples - we reckon this story could make the perfect feel-good follow-up to the 90s original.

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time - again.

Topics: SPORT, Sequel, Winter Olympics

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman