Okay, you’ve seen the comedy Cool Runnings, and you probably read about how the Jamaican bobsled team failed to qualify for this year’s Winter Olympics; news which gained a lot less attention here than abroad.

Lost in-between the tourist novelty and our antipathy with the comedic portrayal of Jamaicans in the movie, is that qualification for the Calgary Olympics in 1988 was a truly remarkable story of success, which typified our natural resourcefulness – and is deserving of real pride, despite the laughs.

Incidentally, each member of that team, outside of the sled, became a success in his own right – and not one was a reggae singer.

Dudley Stokes – whose brother Chris also competed, initially as a last-minute stand-in – still helps run the national bobsled record. And for the record: Jamaica had the seventh-fastest time in Calgary. Much more than a joke.

Read their stories: HERE