Jamaican bobsled hero Dudley Stokes reveals epic Winter Olympic journey and how John Barnes’ dad inspired Cool Runnings
COOL RUNNINGS fans have John Barnes’ dad to thank for one of the great sporting movies.
But even the brilliant Disney film could not tell the full story of the first Jamaican first bobsled team at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Dudley Stokes was driving the sled when it dramatically crashed in Canada – after the Liverpool and England legend’s father ordered him to join up.
Colonel Ken Barnes was Stokes’ superior in the Jamaican military and ran sports in the forces.
Americans George Fitch and William Maloney watched a pushcart derby in a bar and reckoned Jaimaca’s rapid sprinters could succeed on the ice… but no one signed up.
Stokes, born in Turks and Caicos to baptist church missionary parents, told SunSport: “George went to Ken asking for athletes, including one with hand-eye coordination so he can learn to drive the sled. He sent me over.
“This was the army, colonel to captain is a one-way conversation!
“Ken knew me from the army football team. I played to a fairly high level but not internationally like him.
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“My brother was a sprinter. For years I thought I wasn’t athletic because he kept beating me, then he spent ten years ranked in the world’s top ten for 100m!”
Stokes joined the military at 18, serving at RMA Sandhurst in Berkshire, and later was selected for helicopter training in Canada.
His British and Canadian winters prepared him for a life on the ice as the newly-formed team aimed to get to Calgary in a matter of months.
He added: “I was fortunate with an upbringing almost designed for this with the army, digging trenches and learning to fly in extremely cold weather.
“I knew what to expect. The others, some hadn’t seen snow, some hadn’t even left Jamaica.
“In September 1987, we had trials and selection. October was the first time we got on a bobsled track. In February 1988, we were in the Olympic Games.”
They entered the four-man event despite having just four athletes with Stokes the only driver.
But their plans were dented upon arrival by a sandstorm, temperatures rising to 18C and Caswell Allen’s injury.
Stokes, 59, continued: “The hype was out of the door but I was preoccupied with having a good performance. I certainly did not enjoy my first Games as others did!
“It was taxing mentally. We had our first four-man training and one got hurt.
“My brother was watching and someone asked, ‘Why doesn’t he get in the sled?’ This was the second week of the Olympics.
“Finch weaved his magic with bottles of rum and suddenly Chris was accredited.
“The next day he was in the sled. Three days later we were racing. It was crazy.”
Disaster struck on the third of Jamaica’s four competition runs, though.
Stokes had flu and an injured collarbone but they made a lightning-fast start.
Too fast.
I could not get my head in, it bashed the ice for 28 seconds… I saw stars but didn’t lose consciousness
Dudley Stokes
The sled flipped coming out of a corner at 81mph and skidded on its side for 600m before coming to a halt.
The driver, now a performance coach in England’s North-East, recalled: “It was going faster than I’d ever seen.
“There was confusion at the back because of a lack of training, they didn’t know how to get in. Then we crashed.
“I could not get my head in. It bashed the ice for 28 seconds. The initial impact was hard, I saw stars but didn’t lose consciousness.
“The film has us carrying the sled. It’s 600kg so that wasn’t going to happen!”
The team got a tremendous reception then and when they returned to the Caribbean island.
They had won the nation over and the Stokes brothers represented Jamaica at Albertville ‘92, Lillehammer ‘94 and Nagano ‘98.
Fast forward to 2022 and Team Jamaica have seven athletes in Beijing, including four male and two female bobsledders.
The men’s four-man team, who pushed a Mini around Peterborough to train during lockdown, have qualified for the first time since Stokes & Co 24 years ago.
Former banker and international DJ Benjamin Alexander completes the squad as the country’s first Olympic alpine skier.
China’s human rights record has been at the forefront of the criticism heading into the controversial Games, especially with the uncertainty over tennis star Peng Shuai’s safety and freedom.
Asked if he would have competed in China and taken the knee in the fight against racism and discrimination, Stokes added: “Sport fosters a lot of communication between different people from different countries. It’s crucial we have this.
“That’s why we need the Olympic Games to happen. I’m not in favour of curtailing Games even with obvious issues as we have now.
“Were I to take the knee, it would be on a basic principle: out of respect for people who have suffered or had their lives ended or face adversity and did not have the means to take on that struggle.”
