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Published 13:31 19 Jan 2022 GMT
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Dudley 'Tal' Stokes captained the very first Jamaican bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics - the inspiration for Cool Runnings. (Photo: Denise Stokes)
The Jamaican bobsled team captained by Dudley Stokes quite literally crashed out of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.[/caption]
In Cool Runnings, fictional team member Sanka Coffie kisses an egg for good luck. This didn't occur in real life, says Dudley Stokes.[/caption]
"I was serving in the Jamaican Army, flying helicopters in the air force. Two Americans in Jamaica came up with the idea [of a Jamaican bobsleigh team], but they were having trouble finding athletes," Stokes recalled.They sought the help of Ken Barnes - then head of sport within the Jamaican Army. "You may have heard of his son John," Stokes joked.
Jamaican-born striker John Barnes is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Liverpool FC. (Photo by Dan Smith/Getty Images)
Dudley Stokes captained the Jamaican bobsled team, which also consisted of Devon Harris, Michael White, Freddy Powell and Stokes' brother Chris.[/caption]
"About 10 years after its release, my children watched it. They came home, wide-eyed, and said 'You didn't tell us about this!' so I had to watch it again with them."Their love for the movie made him like it too: "At the end of the day, it [the film] captures a spirit which is bigger than me." Stokes continued: "It's a movie that you can watch today and even with all the change in social attitudes, the movie plays well after 30 years." In Beijing, Stokes has high hopes for the Jamaican men's squad who he feels closely connected to. Team member Shanwayne Stephens also followed a similar route into the sport. https://twitter.com/TeamJA876/status/1483094900925251585 "He moved to England aged 14 and joined the Royal Air Force (RAF)," Stokes said. The team's training, the veteran said, has been "well-structured and they are accomplished athletes". Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson, and Matthew Wekpe comprise the rest of the side. The Jamaican team confirmed their qualification on Twitter, adding that it will be "fire on ice" at the Winter Games - an obvious nod to Cool Runnings. "We have some plusses," Stokes added, "including a decent female team which qualified in Pyeongchang [host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics]." "The individual athletes in the Jamaica programme are working very hard, and I wish them all the best in Beijing."
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