When Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell take their positions in the starting gate of the Alpensia Sliding Centre on Feb. 20, there will undoubtedly be a cascade of genuine smiles.
Just don't count on too many raised eyebrows.
After all, one iteration or another of the Jamaican bobsled team has participated in six of the past eight Winter Olympics. By now, even casual sports fans are at least somewhat familiar with the story of the men from the tropical island nation of 2.8 million people becoming overnight celebrities at the Calgary games in 1988.
Jon Turteltaub's "Cool Runnings" plays a significant role in keeping the flames of nostalgia stoked. The 1993 John Candy vehicle remains the niche winter sport's most widely visible crossover into mainstream culture. Still, there is more magic at work here beyond the mere Disneyization of a feel-good family comedy.
Notably, the magic has nothing to do with Jamaica's historical competitiveness at the Winter Games; this wasn't Rocky bootstrapping his way to the world heavyweight title. Neither Jamaica's four- or two-man teams have finished in the top 20 at the Olympics, save for one entry. That high point came at the Lillehammer games in 1994, when Jamaica's four-man bobsled beat out entrants from the United States, Russia, and France, but even that high watermark was only good for 14th place in a 30-team field.
Results be damned, the Jamaican bobsled team at its nucleus embodies the true spirit of the Olympics. Their mere appearance on sport's grandest stage is a remarkable achievement found at the intersection of determination, perseverance, and pride.
And for athletes hailing from climates not often associated with snow and ice, their representation carries an even deeper message beyond that of the average Winter Olympian.
“It’s important to me that little girls and boys see someone that looks like them, talks like them, has the same culture as them, has crazy curly hair and wears it natural, has brown skin-included in different things in this world” Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/9vfJ0FK1wL
— Jamaica Bobsled Team (@Jambobsled) February 10, 2018
As in previous games, the Jamaican bobsled team isn't expected to medal at PyeongChang 2018. Fenlator-Victorian and Russell's sleigh came 11th at last month's BMW IBSF World Cup, and as individual athletes, the former currently ranks 16th in the world, while Russell falls outside the listed top 47.
Not that it matters. Even if this year's run ends in defeat, Jamaica's bobsledders - like the those representing Nigeria, or Tongan cross-country skier Pita Taufatofua - have already won a major victory in South Korea.
When it comes to the legacy of the original Jamaican bobsled team, their journey was always more important than the end. Remember, Jamaica's maiden campaign in Calgary ended with a crash on their final run; those men picked themselves up off the track and still crossed the finish line on foot.
It's little wonder their tale - fish-out-of-water mixed with underdog triumph - has endured for 30 years beyond that initial flash point. Their ethos lives on in many of today's competitors from far-flung outposts. No non-medalists in recent Olympic history - perhaps excepting Eddie the Eagle - have achieved this degree of notoriety without being anywhere close to medal favorites.
Certainly, no non-winners have been as beloved.
