Jamaican Bobsled Coach Quits
Cool Runnings are not so cool in PyeongChang during these Winter Olympics, as the Women’s Jamaican Boblsled team has forced out their Coach, Sandra Kiriasis of Germany. Kiriasis, herself a former Olympian and Gold medal winner in Bobsled, indicates that the dispute started when the Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation decided – during the Games – to demote her from coach to “track performance analyst.” This move removed her from being able to interface with the two-woman team’s athletes, and so Kiriasis has reportedly left the team altogether.
The main issue here is that, if Kiriasis indeed leaves (or has left) the team, the question of whether or not the Jamaican Bobsled team can use their actual bobsled in competition arises. Obviously, this is a pressing matter, as without a bobsled, the team – Jamaica's first female competitors in the Olympic discipline – will not be able to compete at all. For her part, Kiriasis indicates that the sled is her property (or that she is the official legal custodian of the sled), and that without her there to manage the team, she is legally obligated to take the sled with her. The Jamaican Bobsled Federation denies that Kiriasis owns or has custody of the sled in any capacity, so it remains to be seen exactly what happens here.
Of course, the Jamaican Women’s Bobsleigh team is likely to compete regardless of the outcome of this scenario, as it is not unprecedented for a team to have equipment donated to them by other competing nations. Since this is the most probable outcome if the Jamaicans lose their own sled, you should still feel confident in the olympic betting odds on the ladies (as far as you were confident betting on them to begin with) to slide down the course during their training runs this Saturday before their official heats on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.