1988 winter olympics jamaican bobsled crash 1988 winter olympics jamaican bobsled crash

In reality, while Fitch did approach some of Jamaicas best athletes, nobody was interested and he was therefore forced to hold open try-outs. Four sprinters from Jamaica, who had never competed at the Winter Olympics . An informal "Caribbean Cup" of such countries was won by New Zealand's Alexander Peterson and Peter Henry, who finished equal twentieth. Strict, strict timing regimes in days that were structured from start to finish on time, and just hammering away, said Stokes. They came to the army looking for athletes, and thats when I initially heard and as I mentioned, I was not interested. , It will be fire on ice as #TeamJamaica secured their spot at the 2022 Beijing #WinterOlympics. As the 30-year anniversary of the team's debut at the Calgary Olympics approaches, here's the full background on how four novice riders from a Caribbean country ended up competing in the . Subscribe to @olympics: http://oly.ch/Subscribe _____ #Beijing2022 replays: https://oly.ch/B22Replays. In the end, Junior sells his car to finance the trip. "[10] Lewis was officially hired in November 1992. As the driver steers, a nut and bolt on the control column work loose, eventually causing a loss of control as the bobsleigh comes out of a turn and subsequently crashes. They couldnt get anyone to actually do the sport, so they went to the Army and my Colonel. "Loosely based," Harris stresses. [The team] was coming into cold weather. Colorectal cancer cases rising among younger adults in Canada and U.S. The team arrived in Canada with plans to only compete in the two-man competition but after Stokes and White placed 30th in that event (beating 10 teams), the full team decided they wanted to try the four man discipline later in the week. Jamaica qualified in at least one men's bobsled event from 1988-2002, but then didn't send any teams until another unlikely run to a berth in the 2014 Games in Sochi in the two-man bobsled event . Athletes were recruited from the Jamaica Defence Force, which saw Dudley Stokes, Devon Harris, and Michael White become the first members of the team. These three were selected as part of the team in October 1987, with teammate Caswell Allen added later. Driver Dudley Stokes, who had suffered a shoulder injury during training, lost control of the sledon a turn, and the team crashed, forcing the sled on its side. With nine debutants, more than a third of these were competing in Olympic bobsleigh for the first time. For the first time, a team from Ireland was also entered in the competition. Despite only having practiced the four-man a few times a month earlier (and never having raced in the discipline), the Jamaicans hit the wall at the ninth corner of the course and flipped the sled. Cool Runnings is a 1993 American sports film directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and John Candy (in his last film released during his lifetime). All names were changed and much of the story was either embellished or completely reimagined. You can now own a piece of history courtesy of the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary: The helmet worn by driver Dudley Stokes during the team's dramatic . Jamaica's four-man bobsleigh team last qualified for the Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, finishing in 21st. The event included competitors from countries with little history of bobsleigh participation and/or little or no snow. Jamaica has failed to win a bobsleigh Olympic medal. Harris says he was originally anxious about how the real-life characters would be depicted, but was pleased when he saw the film. They got a fast start that day, but Stokes lost control of the sled at 85 miles per hour and crashed, according to The Guardian. Harris competed 20 years earlier at Canada Olympic Park with the bobsled team and was in town to help kick off the 20th anniversary of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The Jamaican bobsled team returned to the Winter Olympics at Albertville in 1992 where they finished 27th out of 31 teams. [2] Stokes was a successful track and field athlete, and after his associate degree from Bronx Community College, he was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The 1993 movie, which tells the story of Jamaica's very first bobsled team back at the 1988 Winter Olympics? I kind of had this idea in the back of my head: lets see if this is possible. With the idea in his head, Harris tried out of the team and earned one of four sports; he was going to attend the 1988 winter Olympics. And anytime you enter into a struggle, you are going to suffer. The movie also depicts the Jamaican bobsledders as outcasts, but in real life they were welcomed warmly at the 1988 Olympics, as ESPN points out. . The site's consensus states "Cool Runnings rises above its formulaic sports-movie themes with charming performances, light humor, and uplifting tone. That day I was literally flying around the beach. As depicted in Cool Runnings, the teams Head Coach was an American. I just like, Oh, so I was like, Whoa, Im on the team, right? Not officially, but yeah, I really felt like Superman, he said. Unlike the movie, the athletes didnt have to sell kisses or hock their vehicles. American businessman George Fitch (who isnt mentioned in the film) was living in Jamaica and spotted the resemblance between the sport and bobsledding, and subsequently took the idea of a national bobsledding team to the countrys Olympic association. The pair couldnt get any athletes to take up bobsled for their endeavor, so they went to the army to find potential candidates, according to Stokes. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team's debut in competition during the 1988 Winter Olympics. "Cool Runnings" has a cast of fictional characters who don't bear much resemblance to the real-life Jamaican bobsledders. In the years since his Olympic debut, Stokes has become more comfortable with his position in sporting and pop-culture history. [6], With funding provided by Fitch and the Jamaica Tourist Board, training was conducted in Canada and Austria in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Most people die before their legacy is revealed, but Ive had to live it. Female Jamaican Bobsled Team Prepares for Olympics, 30 Years After Mens Debut. A soundtrack album with 11 tracks was released by Sony in 1993 on cassette and compact disc (Columbia Chaos OK 57553). Inspired by classic film Cool Runnings, Jamaica's bobsleigh team is BACK at the Winter Olympics after 24 years away - and the current four sledders now include an RAF sniper, who made the Queen . In 1993, Disney released "Cool Runnings," a movie inspired by the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team. The men were both living in Jamaica at the time: Fitch was working for the US government and businessman Maloney was married to a Jamaican. Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. "Loosely based . I always dreamed of being a summer Olympian for track but then my thinking shifted. Georges Gobet/AFP via Getty Images, FILE Jamaican four-man bobsleigh pilot Dudley Stokes jumps in as his three teammates push off at the start of the second run of the Olympic four-man . The 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Canada, were highlighted in part on the bobsled track just not who you would expect. was also made up for the movie, according to Stokes. On a recent Reddit AMA, Dudley Tal Stokes said that he was never a sprinter and he only got into the sport of bobsleighing because he was told to; I got into bobsledding because I was told to go. [7] Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeffrey Wright, and Eriq La Salle were each considered for a role as one of the four Jamaican bobsledders. Alting also competed in luge, finishing thirty-sixth out of thirty-eight.[3]. READ MORE: Jamaicas 4-man bobsled team makes Olympics for 1st time in over 20 years. It was meant to happen when it happened. The remaining members of the four man sled team were Devon Harris and Chris Stokes (Dudley's younger brother). Once there, I was hooked. It's been 34 years since Jamaica made its Winter Olympic debut in bobsled at the 1988 Games in Calgary, an unlikely appearance which was later immortalized in the Disney feature film, "Cool Runnings." Cool Runnings debuted at No. The movie Cool Runnings came five years after Jamaica competed in the Calgary Games but according to Stokes, the film was conceptualized by Americans William Maloney and George Fitch before he and his teammates even started competing together. After pushing their sled to the finish line, the disappointed team members waved to the crowd and shook hands with a number of fans before leaving the track, assuming the story was over. Stokes injured his shoulder prior to the race, but decided to continue with the run. In reality, they did not carry the sled but walked next to it. Theres a very uncomfortable position of actually being alive to watch your legacy unfold, he said. In reality, they started the project intending to compete in the two-man bobsleigh event only. . Firstly, an Olympic Bobsled competition at the time consisted of four runs rather than the three depicted in Cool Runnings. Cool Runnings begins with the depiction of a local pushcart derby going down the Blue Mountains taking place on the island. They only decided to compete in the four-man event after having already completed the two-man event in Calgary. When the time came, he toured with the Jamaican bobsled team to exhibit its positive impact. Its been 34 years since Jamaica made its Winter Olympic debut in bobsled at the 1988 Games in Calgary, an unlikely appearance which was later immortalized in the Disney feature film, Cool Runnings.. 6:51 AM EST, Fri February 18, 2022, Benjamin Alexander: From DJ to Jamaica's first ever alpine skier, The Jamaican four-man bobsled team in action at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games held on February 25, 1988 in Calgary, Canada, which inspired the film "Cool Runnings.". Devon Harris always had a passion for sport and dreamed of competing in the . 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. An agreement was reached with the Fdration Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing in order to allow for entrance in both the four-man and the two-man events at the Games. The team are forced to find other ways to earn the money- Sanka tries his hand at busking, with no success. [1][2], The event included competitors from countries with little history of bobsleigh participation and/or little or no snow. (AP . And according to the Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation, the very first team can actually trace back its origins to the pushcart derby. The Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada was not composed of track sprinters, as the movie might lead you to believe. Please read our Commenting Policy first. East Germany won the most medals, with three. People thought it was ridiculous. As shown in the film, the Jamaicans did however crash on their fourth and final run. On the night the Olympics formally open, Juniors father arrives to retrieve his son, but Junior stands up to his father, and refuses to go home until after the Olympics. Fitch used his own money to train the team, which would eventually add two more members and former American bobsleigh athlete Howard Siler as coach. The squad finished last among 28 teams in the first two heats combined, but that didn't put a damper on its first appearance at the games since Nagano in 1998. [8] Before Jon Turteltaub was officially hired, Jeremiah S. Chechik was slated to direct until he moved on to do Benny & Joon (1993) instead. Growing up in my neighborhood, there was not much opportunity, he said. The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The four-man team made it into the top 28 places to qualify for the Games, marking the first time a Jamaican four-man bobsled team will compete in 24 years since last appearing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. "Athletesgenerally dont treat each other that way.". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He also captained the 1998 team in Nagano, Japan, before retiring from Olympic competition. (Bob Thomas Sports Photography/Getty Images . Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell finished in 19th place. Jamaica's first-ever bobsledders, pilot Dudley 'Tal' Stokes and brakeman Michael White, are cheered on by fans during the first run of the Olympic two-man bobsled event February 20, 1988 at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. The Jamaica Olympic Association was formed in 1936,[1] but due to the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics due to the Second World War, the first Games they competed in was the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. "It's a feature Disney film, not much in it actually happened in real life," Stokes said on Reddit. Its no wonder that Hollywood jumped at the chance to tell their story in the 1993 Disney film, Cool Runnings. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team's debut in competition during the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Jamaican mens bobsled team failed to qualify for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. An additional member, Caswell Allen, pulled out of the team at the last minute and was replaced by Tal Stokes brother, Chris Stokes. Whatever Happened To The 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team. How many medals has the Jamaican bobsled team won? And also back of the pack. The true story is even more remarkable, Harris told InsideEdition.com. ", While the Hollywood version does not reflect reality, Harris says it capturedthe essence and spirit of the team., All of us enjoy the movie, he added. I took the Olympic uniform off and put my Army uniform back on, he said. [26], The film focuses entirely on the four-man bobsled team, which crashed their sled and finished last out of the 26 teams, as all 25 other teams were able to complete all four runs. He invites Derice to try again in four years' time, or to try out for one of the only two other sports Jamaica competes in; boxing and cycling. Getting to grips with bobsled didnt come easily: I knew nothing about the sport I was getting into, said Stokes. One of the pioneering Jamaican bobsled team which first competed at the 1988 Winter Games and inspired the movie "Cool Runnings" has big plans for racers from the Caribbean island at future Olympics. There were two Americans, George Finch and William Maloney who were big into push cart racing and thought it translated well to bobsledding. Jamaica returned to the Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsleigh in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014 . As Jayme Doll reports, the athletes who first blazed the trail will be watching closely Feb 10, 2022, Canadas banks brace for possible wave of loan defaults. An epilogue explains the team would return home as heroes, then return to the Winter Olympics four years later to participate as equals. The four-man Jamaican bobsled team will compete in Beijing for the . The film shows the men crashing into fields and farms as they practice. They competed in one sport, Bobsledding, in both the two-man and four-man events and finished outside the medal places in both competitions. [7] The team did not compete in the fourth run of the event,[15] and subsequently were listed as not finishing the event and therefore were placed in the last place overall. Shanwayne Stephens and his pusher Nimroy Turgott from Team Jamaica compete in the two-man bobsled on February 14. Now the Winter Olympics are getting their own 90s nostalgia hit, following news of the four-man Jamaican bobsleigh team qualifying for the event in Beijing for the first time since Nagano in 1998. RELATED: See Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan . Despite the way Cool Runnings bends the truth, Harris says he loves the film. If you havent subscribed yet what are you waiting for? [13] The film had total domestic earnings of $68,856,263 in the United States and Canada, and $86,000,000 internationally (with $416,771 earned in Jamaica), for a total of $154,856,263 worldwide. JAMAICA, WE HAVE A BOBSLED TEAM HEADING TO BEIJING! However, Jamaica sent a women's bobsled team, a first for the country. [5][6][7] The film's working title was Blue Maaga. He was able to get a major from the Jamaica Defence Force interested, who recommended two of the militarys top runners Mike White and Devon Harris as well as a helicopter pilot Dudley Stokes who could handle the steering of the sled. "We're like 'Chris, you're a sprinter, right? The Jamaican four-man bobsled speeds down the track during the first run of the men's competition 27 February 1988 at the Calgary Winter Olympic Games. However, John Candy personally insisted on portraying the coach and agreed to take a pay cut to do the movie. I really enjoyed it, he said. Derice and Sanka track down Blitzer, who at first refuses to help Derice, until learning he is Ben Bannocks son. Then a member of the Jamaican Defence Force, the advert he saw called for prospective competitors to undergo rigorous and dangerous training to be part of the Jamaican team. He spent his childhood in Haughton, a rural district in Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, but moved to Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. The 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team in Calgary consisted of Devon Harris, Dudley 'Tal' Stokes, Michael White, and Freddy 'Reggae' Powell. Since 1988, the Jamaican men bobsled team has . Unlike in the film, the team was not ran by one single coach. Updated February 11, 2022 8:02 pm. and later to the Olympics in Munich and his early death at 24 in a car crash. [8][9], According to Robinson, "The script has been following me around for 3.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12 years." "[16] On Metacritic it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [2] Turteltaub used the actual ABC sports footage from the 1988 Olympics and incorporated it into the film. These countries included Jamaica (whose involvement spurred the film Cool Runnings in 1993), Mexico, and New Zealand. Click the name of an episode from the list below to listen. The 1993 filmCool Runningswas a massive success at the box office, but took a number of liberties when it came to telling the full story of the 1988 Jamaicanbobsleighteam. For Harris, it took being stationed in the United Kingdom in 1985, where the weather "punched me in the face and my heart. People watch Cool Runnings and theyre very influenced in a lot of ways, Tal Stokes told CNN Sport. On September 1, 2000, the film was released on VHS by Walt Disney Studios in the United Kingdom. The plot follows four Jamaican bobsledders' dream of competing in the Winter Olympics, despite never having seen snow. Despite the reprieve, it wasnt easy for the team to compete. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: The Jamaicans were disqualified temporarily by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but it was not an appeal by the coach that led the IOC to reverse this decision. Powell became a de-facto publicist for the team by selling shirts andsinging their song, Hobin'and a Bobin'.. However, Harris only competed in the two-man event, with his place in the four-man team taken by newcomer Ricky McIntosh. "We know what great athletes there are in Jamaica and know that [athleticism] could be applied to any sport,"Fitch told Inside Edition in 1993. If they had taken part in the final run, they would have had to complete a world-record shattering time under 48.00 seconds to bring home a medal.[22]. Was there really a Jamaican Bobsleigh Team? Jamaica returned to the Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsleigh in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014; a women's team debuted in 2018. John Candy was cast as coach Irving Blitzer, a character very loosely based on Howard Siler. This team hailed from one of the last places you would expect an island in the Caribbean Sea. While Jamaica is known for producing world-class athletes (Usain Boltanyone? Of the 103 runs that were completed in the four-man competition, nobody else posted a time over one minute. At school. Dudley Stokes, Lt.Devon Harris and Pvt. The teammates were trapped underneath the sled. Jamaica competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I saw how amazing the opportunity was.". They were also never in medal contention. American television stations aired footage of the four-man Jamaican team, and despite crashing during the third run and finishing last overall, went on to inspire the 1993 film Cool Runnings. The film was made available for streaming on Disney+ on January 1, 2020. 2023 Cable News Network. They were using borrowed equipment, and one of their teammates got injured during training. The 1993 comedy Cool Runnings is based on the Jamaican bobsled team's competitive debut during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada. The cast and crew filmed in Calgary first, to take advantage of the snow. They also spoke to the Jamaica Defense Force and got the help of Col.Ken Barnes to recruit players. Here's video of the Jamaican bobsled team's Olympic debut in 1988: Sign up for notifications from Insider! But Barnes pushed him to try out for the team. And the one thing I would like to communicate to people that people think that suffering is something to be avoided: no. "Bobsleigh". Brian Gibson was also considered to direct, but he dropped out to do What's Love Got to Do with It (1993) instead. The team recorded its best placing of 14th at the Games in Lillehammer . I describe it as one of the toughest ghettos in the world, impoverished, violent, he said. Three countries won medals in Calgary, with the Soviet Union leading the medal table, winning two medals, one gold and one bronze. Thats a reality. This left them in last place going into the final run, over three seconds behind Portugal in 25th. Feb 19, 2022, 04:48 AM EST | Updated Feb 19, 2022. Bobsleigh at the 1988 Winter Olympics consisted of two events, at Canada Olympic Park. [17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A to F.[18]. "Once [Barnes] told me to go, in a way I wanted to be on the team,"he said. Team Jamaica will be competing in the 2022 winter games; it has qualified for the four-man bobsled and two other bobsled events in Beijing. He has his bucket list and has been ticking off things all his life. [6] Doug told The Baltimore Sun: "I got the offer to play Sanka, the guy I'd wanted to play from the very beginning. In obituaries, Clayton has been deemed part of the first Jamaican Olympic bobsled team at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games. George Fitch also accompanied the team in Calgary. The true story inspired the 1993 movie 'Cool Runnings' starring the late actor John Candy. It was Prince Albert of Monaco who competed in every Winter Olympics from Calgary to Salt Lake City in 2002 who stepped in to ask the IOC to reconsider. If I am going, I am not going to make up a number; I am going to make the team. The team recorded its best placing of 14th at the Games in Lillehammer . It wasn't easy for the team to compete. But Devon Harris, an original member of the team and chairman of the Jamaican Bobsled Federation, says the movies plot is a far cry from what actually happened. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. It immortalised our team, he said in the same interview.. Its 2014 and it has allowed two more generations to become intimate with our story. In the film, the crash happens on the third and final run and is depicted to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the front left blade of the sled. Twenty-three nations participated in bobsleigh at the 1988 Games. That turned into three weeks. An additional member, Caswell Allen, pulled out of the team at the last minute and was replaced by Tal Stokes' brother, Chris Stokes. [21], In the movie, the weather is depicted as bitterly cold with a temperature of 25C (13F). Jamaica does in fact have a bobsled teamthe 1993 Disney film was based on the true story of the Jamaican national team's debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics. He was a middle-distance runner who tried out for the 1984 Summer Olympics, but failed to qualify. Theirs is the ultimate underdog story: A group of guys with Olympic aspirations in a country known for its beaches but not snow. The four of you [in] very confined space and so if you panic, you make it worse, so you just lay there and you just come to an end.". For the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, Harris became the captain of his team. We can figure out a way to qualify, but we need funding to train and then we can be truly competitive. Watt and Brown went on to set an Olympic record of 4.78 seconds for the push-start portion of the competition, but the team failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. At the time of Yoba's official casting, Gibson was still slated to direct. Junior, like Derice, can't wait another four years to enter the Olympics, and Yul Brenner just wants to get off the island. [2] Dawn Steel was on the set every day in Calgary and Jamaica. And George Fitch always had in mind to do a movie, he said. I was in the Army at the time. 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In the film, Derice, Yul and Junior are Jamaican sprinters who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 1988 Summer Olympics (Junior accidentally tripped the other two, which is classic Junior). RM2E706B5 - Devon Harris of the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team slides down zip lines from the top of a 90-meter Olympic ski jumping tower in Calgary, Alberta, February 13, 2008. Derice begins to copy the techniques of the very efficient Swiss team. A lot of what we did at first was comedic. On November 11, 1994, the film was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Walt Disney Home Video in the United States. 2023 Average Joes is an independent digital mens magazine & lifestyle blog bringing the greatest content the world has to offer to your desktop, tablet & mobile. The film's soundtrack also became popular with Jimmy Cliff performing a cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now", which reached the top 40 as a single in the United States, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. Fitch spent 56,000 of his own money to fund the team to Calgary, and Harris travelled to Canada with team-mates Dudley Stokes, Michael White, Freddie Powell and Caswell Allen. Cool Runnings became hugely popular, grossing over $154 million at the box office. The competition took place between February 20 and February 28, 1988. But then over the years, we really became competitors and operated at the very highest level. Alexander went to the PyeongChang Games in 2018 as a spectator and started to wonder if he could compete at that level. Jamaican athletes have won a total of 78 medals, with all but one medal won in athletics, and all but three of those in the individual and relay sprint events. This was the case in the four-man sled competition, which the movie focuses on. Jamaica's entry into the Winter Olympics started with the idea of two Americans who decided to take the sprinting . At the turn called the "Kreisel", Stokes lost control of the bobsleigh and it careened into the wall of the track, and flipped over on top of the four athletes. "[15], Cool Runnings has received a rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews. In, This page was last edited on 8 February 2022, at 09:28. Robinson signed on when Gibson was then the director at the time. They trained in Austria and Lake Placid, N.Y. Stokes had very little training before the Olympics. "[23], After the crash, the film depicted the Jamaicans carrying their sled on their shoulders to the finish to a slow-building standing ovation. Bannock and his friend, a local pushcart driver called Sanka Coffie (Doug E. Doug), find the American alcoholic gambler in a bar in Kingston and try to coax him into coaching the team. Their second run was completed in 59.37, which was the next-to-worst time (25th). That team's story went on to inspire the beloved 1993 Disney film. From the Reddit AMA: I got into bobsledding because I was told to go. When you're in a crash, there is not much you can do, just have to go for the ride, and it's an interesting experience because you just see flashes of white that's going by and you hear the sled scraping on the ice, and it's a horrible sound in your ear, and then you smell the burning of fiberglass," Harris said.