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Jamaica's bobsleigh team in last position after day one of competition in Sochi

The going has been tough so far for Jamaica’s two-man bobsleigh team in the Winter Olympics, with Winston Watt and Marvin Dixon finding themselves in last position at the half-way mark.

The Russian pair of Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda is in the lead, with the Jamaicans placed at the very back in 30th position.

The host-nation finished in a combined time of one minute-52.82 seconds to lead Swiss duo Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann by 0.32 secs.

Forty-six year-old Winston Watts, part of Jamaica's bobsleigh teams in 1994, 1998 and 2002, has brake-man Marvin Dixon as his partner on this trip.

According to the BBC, Watts had to contend with almost snapping off his helmet visor at the start of his second run: "I pulled my visor and with all the adrenaline it just broke, and I said: 'Well, I'm not going to stop now, I'll show the world I've got heart and I'll take my sled down.'"

Responding to comparisons to the film 'Cool Runnings', featuring a Jamaican bobsleigh team, Watts added: "Cool Runnings is a very nice movie and it opened such a nice way for us, but a lot of people look at that movie and see us as jokers. We're not jokers - we're serious contenders. This is not an excuse but things didn't go the way we wanted them to. But we have come here and we have gone out to compete the best we can and to show the world that we're still alive."

The third run will begin at 1430 GMT on Monday. Only the top-20 sleds after that stage will be allowed to compete in the fourth and final run.

SOURCE: BBC

 



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