The Jamaican bobsled team may be headed to another Olympics, the Associated Press reports. But before they can hit the ice to compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the two-man team needs to raise at least $80,000 to pay for travel and equipment, the article says.
“Right now,” sled driver Winston Watts told the AP Saturday, “we’re at zero.”
But that was before the fundraising campaign, "Help the Jamaican Bobsled team get to Sochi," cropped up late yesterday. Lincoln Wheeler started the campaign upon learning that the team needed money after qualifying for the Olympics, the site says. So far, $6,161 has been raised in the campaign, which has nine days left to reach its goal.
The Caribbean nation saw its first team compete in bobsledding in 1988 at the Calgary Games, a tale that inspired the film, Cool Runnings. But it’s been 12 years since Jamaica has had a sled in the Olympics, with Watts finishing 28th at the Salt Lake City Games with Lascelles Brown, who is now a crucial part of Canada's national team, the report says. Brown won a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, one where the Jamaicans were hoping to compete but were again thwarted by funding issues.
Still, Watts remains hopeful that he will be able to compete.
"I'm not a person who likes to quit," Watts told the AP. "I put my heart into it and I know for a fact that people are going to help this team."
Read more at CBS News.