Bobsledders from Nigeria and Jamaica made history at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Tuesday.
In the two-women bobsleigh event, Nigeria’s Seun Adigun and Akuoma Omeoga became the first bobsled team to represent an African nation. Alongside skeleton athlete Simidele Adeagbo, they are also the first athletes from their country to compete in a winter olympiad.
Jamaica’s Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell, meanwhile, became the Caribbean island’s first Olympic female bobsledders — following a tricky week in which their coach, Sandra Kiriasis, resigned and put their competition into jeopardy after she threatened to take the team’s bobsled.
They follow in the footsteps of Jamaica’s bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. Their story inspired the movie “Cool Runnings.”
Team USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs led the two-woman bobsleigh field after the first heat. Jamaica secured joint 17th place out of 20. Nigeria finished last.
