Times of the Islands Summer 2022

Kingston for rum and cokes. They both loved Jamaica and
felt part of the community. George had recently worked
as the commercial attaché at the US Embassy in Jamaica,
but he dreamed of doing something different, like maybe
make a movie someday. William, a successful businessman
and married to a prominent Jamaican, also yearned
for something unique, like perhaps march in the opening
ceremonies of the Olympics.
The story varies, but after a couple more drinks, they
saw on the TV screen a push cart derby competition. This
was a popular event in Jamaica, and one they were quite
familiar with. And that’s when the preposterous idea hit:
Why not form a Jamaican bobsled team using Jamaica’s
world-class sprinters to compete in the upcoming Winter
Olympics next year? George and William pitched the idea
to the Jamaica Olympic Association and got general support.
They then tried to recruit sprinters preparing for
the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. But none were interested
in bobsledding. The two Americans also reached
out to sports clubs and even posted ads in newspapers
but got little interest.
Finally in August, George approached his friend
Colonel Ken Barnes, who was in charge of sports in the
Jamaican Army, and asked him if the military could provide
athletes for a team. He got a yes without hesitation.
With the Olympics just five months away, Col. Barnes
asked/ordered 30 top athletes to try out for the team,
including Tal. Though Tal was fit and an excellent player
on the Army football team, he was not as athletically
gifted as the others. However, he had something else—
outstanding hand-eye coordination that he had developed
as a helicopter pilot. Indeed, the precision skills to fly a
helicopter were quite similar to the split-second timing of
piloting a high-tech piece of bobsled machinery sliding
over ice at breakneck speed.
George and William found a couple of American
Olympic bobsledders whom they talked into flying to
Jamaica to evaluate the skills of the men Col. Barnes had
brought together. Their task was made easier when most
of the prospective bobsledders dropped out after seeing
videos of bobsleds crashing. Of the remaining 12 military
men, the Americans chose Tal, Michael White, and
Devon Harris with the idea of forming 2 two-man bobsled
teams. Later civilians Sammy Clayton, Freddie Powell, and
Caswell Allen would be added.
Of course, Jamaica had neither bobsleds nor a bobsled
track, making the whole notion of even qualifying for
the Olympics problematic. But they got creative and persuaded
a local company to build an iron sled on wheels.
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