Legendary Jamaican bobsleigh team qualifies for the Milan-Cortina Olympics (with a lucky egg)

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A scene straight out of a movie? No, the Jamaican bobsleigh team has officially qualified for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. One of the most emblematic stories in the sports world has just been thrust back into the spotlight.

Almost 40 years after its debut in Calgary in 1988, Jamaica continues to defy weather, statistics and expectations. To celebrate their qualification, the athletes perpetuated a tradition that has gone viral: kissing a lucky egg, a ritual that goes hand-in-hand with preparation based on method and concrete results.

Three qualified bobsledders and a historic result

The Jamaican Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation announced that it had secured three Olympic places: one in the two-man bobsleigh, one in the four-man bobsleigh and one in the women's monobob. An important milestone that confirms the evolution of the Jamaican program and its durability at the highest level.

At the helm of the men's bobsleds will be pilot Shane Pitter, accompanied by brakemen Andrae Dacres, Junior Harris, Tyquendo Tracey and Joel Fearon, who have distinguished themselves during an impressive season on the international circuit.

In the women's monobob, Jamaica will be represented by Mica Moore, a former British athlete who has chosen to compete for the Caribbean nation, embracing her roots. For her, Milan-Cortina 2026 will be a first participation in the Olympic Games, in a discipline that demands precision, strength and great mental mastery. What's for more, her presence reinforces a movement which, in recent years, has focused on developing talent from international sport.

Results on the track

The history of the Jamaican bobsleigh team is inextricably linked with the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games, when four athletes represented their country for the very first time at the Winter Games, inspiring the film Cool Runnings. Since then, Jamaica has been much more than an occasional outsider.

It competed in Sochi in 2014, Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, but the 2025-2026 season marks a major step forward in terms of quality. In November, the team claimed its first-ever North American Cup victory in Whistler, followed by seven podium finishes in subsequent races.

Jamaica's best Olympic bobsleigh result to date remains a 14th-place finish. Today, the current team is more focused on building a solid foundation than chasing promise. The Milan-Cortina 2026 events will take place from February 12 to 22 at the Cortina Sliding Centre, where the ice will write the next chapter in this atypical story.

(©GreenMe.it 2026/Managing editor : Selma Keshkire - The Press Junction/Picture : Unsplash)