Jamaica team opts to use Japanese bobsleigh in 2018 Olympic Games

The “Shitamachi bobsleigh,” developed by factories in Tokyo’s Ota Ward, will be provided for free to the Jamaican team aiming to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to the promotion committee.

A news conference was held in the city of Nagano on Sunday following the decision by the Jamaican team, whose feats at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada, were an inspiration for the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings.”

Test runs have been going on since Friday and the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation gave the thumbs-up to the sled, the committee said Saturday. It will develop a new two-person sled ahead of the 2016-2017 season.

The committee had been aiming to develop a bobsleigh for the Japanese national team’s use, but the Japan Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Federation opted to use German sleds for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

This second snub, following Japan’s rejection of the equipment for the 2014 Sochi Games, had the Shitamachi Bobsleigh project looking abroad for potential users.

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