Jamaica bobsleigh's Shanwayne Stephens: Our mission was always about inspiring people 

Shanwayne Stephens and the Jamaican bobsleigh team exemplified what the Olympics are all about: inspiring people.

And that's just what they did by competing in the 2-man and 4-man events at Beijing 2022.

For the first time since 2014, the nation competed in the 2-man and it had been 24 years since they were competing in the 4-man.

Of course the cult classic film 'Cool Runnings' will always be a part of the team's legacy and identity, but pilot Stephens has been key in writing a new chapter in the nation's story.

'Dream big'

Stephens is a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer from Peterborough, England, and he took up the sport in 2015 while in the RAF. He was born in Jamaica, but moved to Great Britain with his family in 2002.

"The whole journey for us hasn’t been about bobsleigh, it’s about inspiring people," Lance Corporal Stephens told the PA news agency after the team arrived back home in the UK.

"The world has been turned upside down in the last two years, kids have been stuck inside, and we just wanted to say to them that they should dream big.

"That’s what we did, we were always massive underdogs and we are proud of what we achieved."

History made

The main achievement for Jamaica was the fact that, for the first time in history, the Caribbean nation qualified for three bobsleigh events: 2-man, 4-man and women's monobob.

Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian was the only woman on Team Jamaica at Beijing 2022 and she finished 19th in the women's monobob, which was a new event in this most recent edition of the Games.

Crew member Ashley Watson, who is also British born but whose father was born and raised in Jamaica, spoke about the camaraderie among the bobsleigh community while in Beijing.

"People were talking to us, especially the other teams," he said.

"Everyone was stoked to see us out there because we just brought the Jamaican vibes and kept smiling."

Proud of 'Cool Runnings' association

Another member of the team who was key in bringing those Jamaican vibes to the competition was Nimroy Turgott, who sells what he claims is the "world's best" banana bread, co-founded a business that provides care packages to homesick Jamaicans overseas.

"It’s part of our Jamaican culture ('Cool Runnings') and we were proud to be compared with those guys in 88."

Stephens, who gave Queen Elizabeth II a chuckle when his RAF regiment were on a video call with Her Majesty in 2020, concluded by speaking about the comparisons he felt between serving in the Air Force and what he achieved in Beijing.

"In the military, you have the responsibility to bring your troops home again, alive.

“It’s the same with bobsleigh – I have to get them down the hill and bring them home again in one piece.

"We did it, and we’re proud.

“It was obviously an honour speaking to the Queen, and I do hope she was cheering us along while waving a Jamaican flag."

She certainly would not have been alone in doing so as Team Jamaica inspired a new generation of bobsledders back home who will write their own important chapters in this beautiful story.