Jamaica’s two-man bobsled team clocked under one minute for the first time. Dudley Stokes Jr and pusher Michael White were in great form and this resulted in them out pushing both the United States and West German teams.

Published Monday, February 22, 1988

Jamaica’s bobsled team does its fastest time

JAAMAICA'S team did its fastest time, 59.04 seconds, in the two-man bobsled event at the Calgary Winter Games yesterday (February 21, 1988).

The team’s efforts, which placed them in 16th position after the completion of the heats, were undermined by a Russian protest which forced the abandonment of the final two heats.

Protesting track conditions, Soviet team officials had demanded that the competition be decided on the basis of Saturday’s two runs, which would have given the Soviet Union’s top competitor the gold medal.  Instead, the race jury rescheduled the two final heats for today, when temperatures were expected to dip below freezing.  The 1,612-metre (4,838-foot) track’s refrigeration unit struggled to offset temperatures near 10 degrees centigrade (50ºF) at the start of the race.  The course was also covered by wind-blown sand in many spots.

Thirty-one of 41 teams had already completed their heats when the Russian protest came.

Before then, Jamaica’s team of driver Dudley Stokes Jr and pusher Michael White was in great form.  They out-pushed both the United States and West German teams, in the process of registering the under one-minute clocking.
 

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