SOUTH FLORIDA – Devon Harris, a member of Jamaica’s bobsled group whose heroics on the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary impressed the hit film Cool Runnings, stated he and his teammates have been fearful about how they might be portrayed within the 1993 comedy.
Cool Runnings, which starred John Sweet, Malik Yoba and Leon, celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in October. It’s loosely primarily based on the groundbreaking group that was a sensation in Calgary 35 years in the past.
Harris, brakeman for the four-man group, informed South Florida Caribbean Information that the and his colleagues met with writers for the film in New York. He stated though they took “copious notes” from them, it appeared that was deserted for a “extra fascinating” script.
Devon Harris
“The storyline within the film is kind of totally different than what occurred in actual life,” he stated, including that the group’s biggest concern was how they might be projected.
“One of many issues we had concerning the film, was that they might resort to the stereotypical portrayal of Jamaicans as celebration animals and weed-smoking sort of individuals,” Harris said.
Harris, brothers Dudley and Chris Stokes, Michael White and Freddy Powell represented Jamaica on the Calgary Winter Olympics. Competing with restricted monetary assets and tools, their brave performances within the four-man and two-man occasions, made them fan favorites.
Now a motivational speaker primarily based in New York, Harris stated he likes Cool Runnings. Harris final watched the film, in components, in 2022. He believes it has held up after three a long time however not a lot is finished to doc the sacrifices they made to compete in Calgary.
“Studying a model new sport in such a brief house of time in an effort to compete on the Olympic Video games, you needed to be disciplined, you needed to be targeted, you needed to be devoted; full dedication, ” he stated. “I feel as a result of individuals are so apt to view us via stereotypical lenses, they missed that dedication to dedication that we demonstrated to get to the Olympics again in 1988.”
Jamaica’s bobsled group have been to the Winter Olympics a number of instances since their historic Canadian debut, together with final 12 months in Beijing, China. They’ve retained their novelty tag however by no means severely challenged for medals.
Retired Jamaican Olympic Bobsledder Devon Harris Displays on Inspiration for Jamaican Bobsledders