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Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Gets New Sled From Red Stripe After Old One 'Held Hostage'

Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Gets New Sled From Red Stripe After Old One 'Held Hostage'

The former coach of the Women's Jamaican Bobsleigh team quit and took the sled with her

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

We're all familiar with the amazing story of the Jamaican bobsleigh team depicted in Cool Runnings, it's an absolute classic and is - loosely - based on true events.

Fast-forward to this year's Winter Olympics and check out the current female Jamaican bobsleigh team and you'll find that they've still got a flair for drama.

On Wednesday, the coach of the team quit, which is bad enough during the Winter Games, however, she's also reported to have vowed to take away the team's bobsled, just three days before training starts. See? Couldn't you totally picture this happening in Cool Runnings?

German Sandra Kiriasis, a two-time Olympic medallist, is reported to have left the team after her role changed from driving coach to track performance analyst. According to the BBC, she said: "I've never known such disappointment in this sport, in my life."

She is also reported to have said that as she was responsible for getting the team their sled, she wanted payment for it use. The Jamacian Bobsleigh Federation refused to pay up and disputed that Kiriasis was even legally responsible for the sled, the BBC reports.

With neither side offering to back down and a JBSF spokesperson calling Kiriasis a 'destructive force' on the team, it looked like it could have been a wasted trip - until, like most of life's problems, it was solved by beer... sort of.

Stepping up in some style, Jamaican brewery Red Stripe offered to foot the bill for a new sled via Twitter. This story has got more twists and turns than a bobsleigh track, hasn't it?

In an adorable move, the JBSF responded to the tweet showing off their phone number, as Red Stripe USA didn't have its DMs open.

Andrew Anguin, a marketing manager for Red Stripe, confirmed to Adweek that the beer producer is keen on funding a sled for the team, saying: "As a beer born and brewed on the same island as these athletes, we want to ensure they have what they need to proudly compete."

And, earlier today a spokesperson for the team told the BBC that they had indeed been gifted a new sled and that it will be ready in time for tomorrow's first training run. Phew.

Source: BBC

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Winter Olympics