Jamaica Below Zero: The Incredible Story of the Bobsleigh Team That Challenged the Snow (and Prejudices)

Some dreams are born in snowflakes. And then there are those born under the Caribbean sun, surrounded by reggae, sand, and laughter, with Bob Marley's voice echoing in the background. But then, through sheer determination (or perhaps pure madness), they end up racing at 140 km/h on an icy track.

This is the story of the Jamaican bobsleigh team. A story that sounds like a joke, then becomes reality. And finally, legend.

It all started in 1987, when two Jamaican army officers—partly as a joke, partly as a provocation—decided to form a national bobsleigh team. In Jamaica, yes. Where the only ice is in cocktails.

They looked for fast, strong, explosive athletes. Like sprinters. After all, the bobsleigh start is a race, and Jamaicans are masters at that. So they assembled a team of former sprinters, soldiers, and volunteers with zero experience on sleds but with an unmatched courage.

Their official debut came at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. No one took them seriously. Journalists laughed. Other teams looked at them with a mix of curiosity and pity. But there they were. In makeshift suits, with a borrowed bobsleigh, and a determination bigger than the cold.

Their run down the track was unstable, spectacular, almost comical. Then, in the final descent, the unexpected happened: they crashed. The bobsleigh flipped over. The race ended against the barriers.

And yet, that scene—four athletes getting up, lifting the bobsleigh, and carrying it by hand to the finish line, to the applause of the crowd—entered history. No one would ever forget them.

Their adventure would inspire the cult film Cool Runnings, released in 1993. A comedy, of course. But also a tribute to those who dared the impossible.

Because Jamaica didn't stop there.

In the years that followed, the Jamaican bobsleigh team continued to participate in several editions of the Olympics. Always in the minority, always uphill. But with a passion that won over the world. In 1994, in Lillehammer, they finished 14th, ahead of much better-equipped countries. A sporting miracle, but also a cultural one.

Today, the Jamaican bobsleigh team is still active. They competed in the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a brand new four-man bobsleigh, bringing the men’s team back to the Olympic competition after more than twenty years. And not only that: there is also a women's team, which made its debut at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018, making history.

The new generations grow up with less improvisation and more support. But the spirit is the same: to challenge the absurd, with smiles on their faces and reggae in their hearts.

The Jamaican bobsleigh team has never won an Olympic medal. But they’ve won something much rarer: the respect of the world, the affection of the people, and the right to sit at the table of "the impossible made possible."

In a world full of logic and rationality, they are a fairy tale that gained speed. And they continue to glide, fast, toward new tracks to conquer.

Because, after all, there’s no dream too hot for snow.