UPDATE (8 p.m. ET): Crisis over for the Jamaican bobsled team, which has managed to get hold of its missing luggage and equipment this evening. The team confirmed the good news on their official Twitter account with the message: “Have no fear, our gear is safe.”
After qualifying for the Sochi Olympics and then having to raise $80,000 just to make the trip, the Jamaican bobsled team arrived in Russia but were unable to begin training today because of the missing items. According to the Associated Press, that luggage included the runners for the country’s two-man sled.
Watts indicated that he would have to borrow equipment from other nations if their gear didn’t arrive soon.
“We have a lot guys who’s going to help us,” he said according to USA Today. “They want to help us.”
Prior to heading for Sochi, the team had been training at their American base in Wyoming and Utah, where they also made a stop at the Sundance Film Festival to promote their run to the Olympics.
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The program, made famous by the 1993 Disney film “Cool Runnings,” had to drum up that aforementioned sum of $80,000 following their qualification in the two-man event. In two days, fans from around the world had thrown in more than $120,000 before crowd funding was stopped.
Sochi will mark the sixth Winter Olympics that has featured the Jamaican bobsled team. The best bobsled finish for the country overall is a 14th-place effort in the four-man at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. In its most recent Olympic appearance, Jamaica placed 28th in the two-man at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
