Fourteen years ago the first Jamaican Bobsled team made history in the Calgary
 Olympics Winter Games. They warmed the hearts of many worldwide in their first 
 attempt at Olympic glory and was even immortalized in the popular Walt Disney movie 
 "Cool Runnings". Since then the team has been a mainstay in the Winter Olympics and 
 now have their eyes focused on bringing back a medal to Jamaica. 

 In the first games (1988) the team was seen as a novelty as they had many technically 
 difficulties, injuries and crashes. In the second games (1992) the team had drastically 
 improved. They had practiced hard for 4 years and were confident and focused. 
 The 4-man team came in 14th ahead of the US, French, Russian and Italians teams. 
 This was just the beginning. In the 2-man event the Jamaican team shocked the world  
 by beating the Swedish national champions and coming in 10th place. 

 The team has continued to improve and took in 2000, and took gold at the World Push 
 Championships in Monte Carlo in three events and posting the fasted start time at 
 the World Cup. 

 The performance of the Jamaican Bobsled Team over the years has been phenomenon 
 due to the fact that Jamaica is a tropical island and has no snow. The determination 
 and hard work of the Jamaican team has paid off as they recently participated in the 
 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. 

 What is a push cart? 
 Pushcarts are those homemade carts that can be seen all across Jamaica. 
 They are used as a moving restaurant (vendors who sell food etc), 
 to transport items (mainly merchandise to the market, but some are 
 used as moving trucks) or as a racing cart (similar to North America soap box)
 in Push cart derbys held across the island. 
 Push-carting began as a grassroots sport and has become a very popular event.

 The Kaiser's Sports Club is the venue for the finals of the annual Push Cart 
 Derby in August. 
 Many of the owners of these homemade carts compete for cash prizes 
 have and trophies. Some of these carts are very sophisticated and 
 been clocked at 60 miles per hour on a downhill homestretch. 

 The pushcart derby in Jamaica is credited for the inspiration to start 
 a Jamaican Bobsleigh team. Two American businessmen who attended 
 the Jamaican Push Cart Derby were so impressed by the skills of the
 participants that it inspired them to negotiate the formation of a Jamaican 
 Bobsleigh team with the Jamaican government and the 
 prospective participants.

 1897 - the world's first bobsleigh club was founded in St. Moritz, Switzerland,
 spurring the growth of the sport in winter resorts throughout Europe.

 1914 - bobsled races were taking place on a wide variety of natural ice courses. 
 
 1923 - the Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing 
 (FIBT) was founded and the following year a four-man race took place at 
 the first ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France 

 1932 - a two-man event was added at the Olympics in Lake Placid, U.S.A., 
 a format that has remained to the present

 1952 - a critical rule change limiting the total weight of crew and sled ended 
 the era of the super heavyweight bobsledder and sealed the future of the 
 sport as an athletic contest of the highest caliber. 

 1980 - until the advent of World Cup competition bobsleigh success was 
 determined solely by performance at the Olympics, World and European 
 Championships. Since its inception, however, the World Cup series has 
 added an exciting new dimension to the sport where versatility on 
 different tracks and season-long consistency are rewarded. 

 By far the most successful bobsledding nations have been Switzerland and Germany. 
 The Swiss have won more medals in Olympic, World and European championships and 
 World Cup competitions than any other nation. East Germany emerged as the sport's 
 major power in the mid 1970s with its emphasis on sled design and construction. 
 Since reunification, German bobsledders have remained a formidable group, winning 
 numerous Olympic medals and World Championship titles since 1990. Italy also has a 
 long and successful track record in the sport, particularly from the mid 1950s to late 
 1960s, and Austria has had its shining moments. 
 In World Cup competition the Swiss and Germans have won the most medals, followed 
 closely by Canadian teams.  
 From the small core of alpine nations who originally embraced bobsledding, the sport 
 has since expanded around the world to include countries such as Jamaica, Japan, 
 Australia and New Zealand.