BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — It has been 29 years since the movie "Cool Runnings" was released. The iconic movie was based on the true story of four Jamaican bobsledders in 1988 who set out to make their Olympic dreams come true, despite never having seen snow or ice in their island country.
Now, decades later, another four-man Jamaican bobsled team is competing in the Winter Olympics. One of their team members got his start at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rolando Reid is from Jamaica, but ran track in college at Morgan State University, and dreamed of taking his talents to the Olympics one day. But his track coach never thought it would be the Winter Olympics.
"To be honest I thought he was crazy," coach Neville Hodge said about when Reid approached him about training for the bobsled team. "To be moving that fast in a small piece of equipment at 80 miles per hour is totally ridiculous, but again, that’s Rolando. He lives on the edge."
Injuries derailed Reid’s track and field dreams, but he didn’t let that stop him from making it to the Olympic Games.
“If you look at most athletes who go into bobsled, most of the time it starts with speed and strength," Hodge said. "Rolando has that! He was really powerful as a sprinter. He was real massive."
Coach Hodge is a three-time Olympian sprinter himself. He competed for the Virgin Islands in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Games, and also coached the Olympic team following his track career. Upon learning that Reid's Olympic dreams were coming true, he offered some advice.
"Enjoy the ride," Hodge said. "It’s an opportunity that most people would love to have and you have an opportunity to do it. So, just enjoy it and make the best of it.”
Hodge added that Reid won’t just be representing Jamaica in the Olympics, but says he’s representing Morgan State University, and all athletes at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) looking to follow in his footsteps.
“It's a great story, for a young man to come from a small little island, to be making it to the Olympics," Hodge said. "To come from a track background, and coming from an HBCU, it carries a lot of value. He leaves Morgan State in a better place, and now he’s added to the list of Olympians we have. I don’t remember if we have any Olympians in the Winter sports, but if not, he will be the first, so he’s making history."
The four-man Jamaican Bobsled team will compete Friday Feb. 18 and Hodge said he’s gathering on campus to watch the Games with his assistant coaches and other student-athletes.
"I'm so excited, so very, very excited," he said. "I'm just so proud."