Memories of the Life of a Reporter (II)

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

Kingston, Jamaica, one morning in May 2003. Dudley C. and Chris Stokes sit in their office on Beechwood Avenue. Both around 40 years old, both sturdy in stature, both with a Caribbean twist in their necks, both successful business people.

15 years earlier, the two wrote sports history in Calgary. Dudley, his brother Chris, Michael White and Devon Harns march into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Olympic Games to the delight of the world’s population. Like the Jamaica national bobsleigh team.

Posters were used to search for athletes

Four Rastafarians, straight from the beach in the Canadian winter. It is the birth of the greatest fairy tale in sport. A story that was filmed by Walt Disney a few years later. And under the title “Cool Runnings” more than 300 million dollars washed at the box office.

Dudley Stokes then begins to tell with sparkling eyes. It all started in a nightclub in Kingston in 1987, where two American businessmen had a few thirst-quenching drinks. George Fitch and William Maloney are in Jamaica for an extended period of time. Witnessing a soap box race in Kingston, they have the daring idea of ​​creating a late-night Jamaican bobsleigh team. Her dream: to be a supervisor at the Olympic Games at least once.

Fitch and Maloney put up posters in Kingston looking for athletes. But only contempt and ridicule. Their path eventually leads them to the army base, where they speak with Colonel Ken Barnes. And Barnes has an open ear for sporting concerns. It is discussed that two sprinters are needed for the back seat, the middle one more likely an 800m runner and a man with fine hands on the ropes.

For example, Michael White and Chris Stoke, who at the time both sprinted the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds, together with middle stretcher Devon Harns and then helicopter pilot Dudley Stokes as coxswain, form the first Caribbean bobsleigh team.

A small amount of the movie classic went to a real team

In Calgary, the Jamaicans cause a gigantic media storm. A major fall in the ice channel added interest and after a few days “we couldn’t take to the streets in our advertised track jackets. We became superstars overnight,” says Dudley Stoke.

The fairy tale also has a dark side. Speaking to the Stokes brothers, it’s clear that the film Cool Runnings has left mixed feelings among those who inspired the blockbuster. “We only received $225,000 of the $300 million,” says Dudley Stokes. They were scammed. And Chris adds, “At least we were invited to the Los Angeles premiere.”

The Jamaican bobsleigh team still exists. Dudley was once president of the association, as was his brother Chris. They later participated in other games. “But we were never really taken seriously. We wanted athletes. But after that movie we were just showmen.”

Source : Blick