Jamaica, a country of enthusiasm for sprinters, has an average temperature of more than 30 degrees Celsius almost every year, but in this land where there are no snowflakes all year round, 34 years ago, a group of young people who were extremely eager to serve the country had a sudden whim and resolutely embarked on the ice and snow race from the savannah, thus opening a mythical story.
Living in a snow-free country all year round, preparing for an ice and snow sport is undoubtedly fraught with difficulties and challenges. At that time, Captain Devon Harris, running enthusiast Dudley Stokes, and communications officer Michael Walter formed the first Generation Jamaican Snowmobile Pioneer, and began their snowmobile journey with the help of reggae musician Freddy Powell.
In the beginning, this unusual snowmobile team was only sponsored by the Jamaica Tourism Board, and the shortage of funds made it impossible for them to find equipment for training, and they could only do some physical training on the grass and borrow facilities for "physical".
It wasn't until the winter Olympics officially began that the Jamaicans came to Canada and really came into contact with the race snowmobile. Initially, they wanted to participate in the two-person snowmobile event, but the lack of strength made them quickly eliminated and unable to enter the stage of the Winter Olympics. But that didn't dampen their enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics, and Freddy magically borrowed a spare four-person snowmobile from the local area to continue signing up for the four-person paddle program. However, the lack of participants was once again a roadblock, when Dudley Stokes immediately called his brother from Jamaica to Canada, and after just a week of training, the Jamaican four-man snow team officially formed a group and passed the qualifiers and stepped onto the stage of the Winter Olympics.
At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the Jamaican Snow Team had become the focus of the entire arena, and amid the cheers of the audience, four Jamaicans stood on the track, pushing the snowmobile, starting speed, and then jumping on the snowmobile to the finish line! However, the lack of training in the real arena still led to a big mistake, in a 270-degree twisting curve, several Jamaicans obviously could not control the speed of the snowmobile, only to see the snowmobile lose control at high speed, suddenly overturning at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour, the cheers of the whole audience suddenly turned into silence, and the athletes' helmets and ice walls scratched on the field. But fortunately, the runners were not in serious trouble, and they did not give up, and under the attention of the whole audience, the four pushed the snowmobile to the finish line, once again enjoying the cheers of the audience.
In this way, this Jamaican snow team with dreams ended this turbulent Winter Olympic journey and ignited Jamaicans' love for ice and snow sports. Since then, the Jamaican Snow Team has participated in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, and although their results have not been outstanding, each appearance is a legacy of the country's ice and snow dreams.
In recent years, the lack of funding has become the biggest problem for this team, but it has not hindered their pursuit of their dreams in the slightest. In 2014, they raised money online to fly to Sochi, and in 2018, they crowdfunded $60,000 to find a new coach, and helped the Jamaican women's snow team to the Stage of the Winter Olympics for the first time.
In preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics, Jamaican athletes trained by pushing carts and once laughed at the 94-year-old queen in the live broadcast, a cute team that always fights for dreams, and has won the respect of the world for decades. In 2022, let's look forward to them continuing to chase happiness on the stage they love.