Forget Cool Runnings: Inside the real Jamaican bobsled team

Ex army officer Devon Harris was part of the historic Olympic bobsleigh team that inspired the film Cool Runnings, but Hollywood only got half the story.

Devon grew up in a tough area of Kingston, Jamaica, called Olympic Gardens. He dreamed of taking part in the Olympics, but living on a tropical island meant winter sports were never on his radar. For him, school was his haven away from the violence he witnessed in his neighbourhood and he worked hard in the classroom and on the sports field so that he could one day fulfil his dream of becoming an army officer. It was during his time in the Jamaica Defence Force that his sporting talent was spotted and he ended up getting a place on Jamaica’s first-ever bobsleigh team. The Jamaicans made history at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, but this wasn’t anything like Cool Runnings – the 1993 Hollywood film inspired by the team’s story – the reality was much tougher and much more rewarding.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Andrea Rangecroft

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