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Devon Harris, OLY [1] (1964) is a retired bobsledder and military officer. He was one of the founding members of the Jamaica national bobsled team, which first competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Nicknamed "Pele" after the famous football star, Harris went on to compete in the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics. He currently resides in Congers, NY.
Harris was born in Jamaica in 1964. He grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Sunrise Drive in Olympic Gardens (known as "Waterhouse," or "Firehouse," because it was a volatile area). A graduate of Drews Ave Secondary School, Ardenne High School, and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Harris had been an avid football player and track and field participant, with his dream being to represent Jamaica in the 1984 Summer Olympics in the 800m and 1500m events.
When the idea for a Jamaican Bobsled Team was pitched to the Jamaica Defense Force, Harris was a lieutenant in the Second Battalion. He first came across the proposal in a weekly army publication called "Force Orders" in September 1987. The text had called for those who wished to "undergo rigorous and dangerous training" to represent Jamaica in the Winter Olympics. Harris initially thought the idea was ridiculous, but was eventually convinced to participate by his colonel, Lt. Col Alan Douglas. At the team selections, Harris ended up with the fastest push time.
Harris returned to the military after Calgary and later became a civilian in 1992 after his second Olympics in Albertville, France. He also competed in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
During the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Devon was honored by the World Olympians Association and inducted as an Olympian For Life in recognition of the significant contribution he has made to society in inspiring others to never give up. [1] [2]
Harris currently works as a motivational public speaker and writer. In 2006, Harris founded the Keep On Pushing Foundation which supports the education of kids in disadvantaged communities.
In 2008 Harris published his children's book, Yes, I can! The Story of the Jamaican Bobsled Team , illustrated by Ricardo Cortes. In 2010 he published his semi-autobiographical motivational book; Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Calgary, Canada, from 13 to 28 February 1988. A total of 1,423 athletes representing 57 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 46 events from 10 different sports and disciplines. Five new events were contested at these Games—men's and women's Super G in alpine skiing, team events in Nordic combined and ski jumping, and women's 5000 metres in speed skating—and two events returned to the program—men's and women's combined in alpine skiing.
Cool Runnings is a 1993 American sports comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael Goldberg, and a story by Siefert and Michael Ritchie. It is loosely based on the debut of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, and stars John Candy, Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, and Malik Yoba. In the film, former Olympian Irving Blitzer (Candy) coaches a novice four-man bobsleigh team from Jamaica, led by sprinter Derice Bannock (Robinson).
Lascelles Brown is a Jamaican-born Canadian bobsledder who has competed for three countries since starting his career in 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he is the first Jamaican-born athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal.
Sandra Kiriasis is a German former bobsledder who has competed from 2000 to 2014.
Jamaica competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They competed in one sport, Bobsledding, in both the two-man and four-man events and finished outside the medal places in both competitions. Athletes were recruited from the Jamaica Defence Force, which saw Dudley Stokes, Devon Harris, and Michael White become the first members of the team. Caswell Allen was the fourth man, but was injured prior to the start of the Olympics and was replaced by Chris Stokes, who was only in Canada to support his brother and new teammate Dudley.
The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The men's team debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games four-man bobsleigh in Calgary, Alberta, was received as underdogs in a cold weather sport represented by a nation with a tropical environment. Jamaica returned to the Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsleigh in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, and 2022; a women's team debuted in 2018.
Howard Banford Siler Jr. was an American bobsledder who competed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
The Pushcart derby is a popular sporting event held every August in Jamaica where homemade carts that are used for street vending, to transport items or as a racing cart take part in races like the American soap box races. The carts have been clocked at up to 60 miles per hour on a downhill homestretch.
The Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Calgary, Alberta. Part of Canada Olympic Park, it hosted the bobsleigh and luge competitions at the 1988 Winter Olympics. This track is one of only two of its type in the world to be featured in a non-documentary film when it was part of the 1993 American film Cool Runnings which loosely followed the Jamaican Bobsled Team during their competition in bobsleigh at the 1988 Games.
Christopher Fogt is a United States Army Major, three time USA Olympian, and Olympic Silver medalist. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi as a member of the famed Team Night Train, in the four-man event. He also competed in the two-man Bobsled event in Sochi, earning 12th place with pilot, Cory Butner. He competed in the 2010 Vancouver Games as a member of USA-2, in the four-man event with pilot John Napier. After taking three years off after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, he returned to the Sport in 2017 with long time friend and teammate Steve Langton earning a spot on his third USA Winter Olympic Team to compete in PyeongChang, 2018. He competed in PyeongChang with pilot Justin Olsen in the four-man event.
Dudley ‘Tal’ Stokes is a Jamaican bobsledder and Bobsled coach. He competed at the 1988, 1992, 1994 and the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Winston Alexander Watts is a member of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team. He has competed in four Olympics, most recently the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Edson Luques Bindilatti is a decathlete and bobsledder from Brazil.
Germany competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 153 competitors in 14 sports. They won 31 medals in total, 14 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze, ranking second in the medal table after Norway at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Germany excelled in ice track events, biathlon, Nordic combined and Ski jumping. The men's ice hockey team took a silver medal, having lost a closely contested final to Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Brazil competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 9 competitors in 5 sports.
Singapore sent a delegation to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. This marked the debut for Singapore at the Winter Olympics. The country was represented by single competitor, speed skater Cheyenne Goh. She did not advance out of the qualifying round of her event, the women's 1500 metres race.
Jamaica competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with three competitors in two sports.
Adam Jeremy "A. J." Edelman is an American-born Israeli sliding sports athlete. He is a four-time Israeli National Champion in the skeleton event who competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Edelman is the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics, and the first Orthodox Jewish man to compete in either Olympic iteration. Edelman is training for the 2026 Beijing Olympic Games and program general manager for the Israel bobsled team.
Anthony Watson is an American-born skeleton racer who competed on behalf of Jamaica in the 2018 Winter Olympics, becoming the first athlete to represent the Caribbean nation in the winter sport.
Alexander Kopacz is a Canadian bobsledder and the reigning Olympic co-champion in the two-man bobsleigh event. He competed in the two-man event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kopacz and pilot Justin Kripps tied with the German team of Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis for the gold medal.