Jamaican-born bobsledder earns Olympic silver medal

Lascelles Brown, who pushed sleds for Jamaica from 1999 until 2004, helped Canada earn a silver medal in two-man bobsledding on Sunday night — only about a month after he obtained citizenship and earned the right to represent his new homeland in the Turin Games.

Brown is the second black bobsled medallist in Winter Olympic history; another brakeman, Vonetta Flowers of the United States, won a gold medal in the women’s event four years ago in Salt Lake City and began her defence of that victory last night at the Olympic track with driver Jean Prahm. "I want to thank Canada for embracing me as a citizen so I can sit here and talk to you," Brown said. "I want to thank all my Jamaican friends, my teammates, who talked to me, were behind me and motivated me in order to do what I did today." Brown and driver Pierre Lueders finished the two-day, four-run competition in three minutes, 43.59 seconds. They were 0.21 seconds behind German winners Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske, and 0.14 seconds ahead of bronze medallists Martin Annen and Beat Hefti of Switzerland.

Brown’s job is simple: He’s the man at the back of the sled when the run begins, sprinting and pushing as fast as he can and building speed for the driver. And Canada benefited from his work; Brown’s start times were either first or second in all four runs.

"I think he’s the best athlete on the Canadian team and I know how proud he is to represent this country," Lueders said. The Jamaican bobsled team made their debut in the Olympics at Calgary in 1988, amid wide-eyed stares from naysayers who thought it was nothing more than a joke. But the team — which inspired the Cool Runnings movie that starred John Candy — surprised most with a series of strong finishes.