Jamaica competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 27 February 1994. It was the country's third consecutive appearance at the Winter Olympics, since its debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The Jamaican delegation consisted of four male athletes competing in one sport. It did not win any medals at the Games.
Background The Jamaica Olympic Association was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1936. Jamaica made its Olympic debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, and has since participated in every Summer Olympics. However, it made its first Winter Olympics appearance only at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 1994 Winter Olympics was the country's third consecutive appearance at the Winter Olympics.
The 1994 Winter Olympics was held in Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 and 27 February 1994. Bobsleigh athlete Chris Stokes served as Jamaica's flagbearer during the opening ceremony on 12 February 1994. Jamaica did not win a medal at the Games.
Competitors The Jamaican team consisted of four male athletes competing in one sport.
SportMenWomenTotalBobsleigh4 0 4 Total 4 0 4
Bobsleigh
Jamaica qualified two sleds for the bobsleigh events at the 1994 Winter Olympics: one for the men's two-man event and one for the men's four-man event. This was Jamaica's third consecutive participation in the bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics since it made its debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics. The bobsleigh events were held at Olympiske Bob-og Akebane at Hunderfossen, located about north of Lillehammer. The -long track was completed in 1991 and has a vertical drop of and an average gradient of 8.5%.
Participants Dudley Stokes and Wayne Thomas were part of both the two-man and four-man teams, while Winston Watts and Chris Stokes completed the Jamaican lineup for the four-man event. Dudley Stokes, who was born in Turks and Caicos Islands, and his brother Chris, have been part of the Jamaican bobsled team since its debut at the 1988 Olympics, and were competing in their third consecutive Games. Thomas and Watts made their debut at the Winter Olympics.
Two-man The two-man event was held on 19 and 20 February 1994. Stokes and Thomas were ranked 25th out of the 43 sleds after the first turn with a time of 53.59 seconds. Though they took slightly longer to complete the course in the second and third runs, they were placed one better at 24th in both the runs. However, the team did not complete the fourth and final run, and were eventually the only team that was not classified in the final standings.
Four-man The four-man event was held on 26 and 27 February 1994. The crew set a time of 52.5 and 52.56 seconds in their first two runs respectively to be classified 18th out of the 30 sleds. In the third run, they improved to 52.39 seconds and were ranked in the top ten. Though they took longer to complete the course in the fourth and final run, they finished 10th in the standings. With a combined time of 3:29.96 across their four runs, the team finished 14th in the overall standings. This was the best ever finish for Jamaica in the bobsleigh events at the Winter Olympics.
Sled Athletes Event Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Run 4 Total Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank JAM-1 Dudley Stokes*Wayne ThomasTwo-man 53.59 25 53.81 24 53.76 24 — DNF — DQ
Sled Athletes Event Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Run 4 Total Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank JAM-1 Dudley Stokes*Winston WattChris StokesWayne ThomasFour-man 52.50 18 52.56 18 52.39 10 52.51 10 3:29.96 14 * – Denotes the driver of each sled
See also Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics
References