Peterborough’s Jamaican bobsled driver hopes to inspire others as Olympic campaign comes to an end

Shanwayne, who was born in Jamaica but lives in Peterborough - drove both the two-man and the four-man sleds in Beijing during the Winter Olympics, with his final run coming yesterday (Sunday) in the four man competition.

He was joined in the sled by fellow Peterborian Ashley Watson.

It was the first time Jamaica had a four man sled in the Olympics since 1988 - the games that inspired family film Cool Runnings.

Shanwayne had trained for the games by pushing his fiancé’s Mini Cooper round the streets of Peterborough during lockdown.

Sadly, Jamaica finished bottom of the standings in both competitions - but Shanwayne told the Olympics.com he hoped others would be inspired by his story.

MORE: Olympics.com - Jamaica inspires: “Try something new, have some fun with it.”

He said; “A big part of us being here is just to show people that you can achieve anything that you want to achieve if you just put your mind to it and go out there and do it.

“Winning a medal isn’t there for us, not yet, not right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be.

“Our plan is to build on this programme moving forward, getting more and more Jamaican athletes involved in the sport.”

It was always going to be an uphill challenge for the Jamiacan team, who only came together in September last year. The top teams have spent years working together to get to the top of their sport. Now he is looking forward to the next games, which will be held in Italy in four years time.

Shanwayne said; “If we can qualify for this Games having met for the first time in September last year, imagine what we can do the next four years with a proper programme and proper funding.

“We’re excited for the future. We’re excited for what’s about to come. We just can’t wait to get there, put in another fantastic performance and then look forward to the next four years building our programme.

“If you want to do something, just go out there and try it, you can achieve it. Just have a go, you never know if you’re going to be good at something if you don’t have a go at it.

“I can literally speak for all of us when I say we never thought we’d be bobsledders. Ever.

“It was literally by chance that we all got into the sport of bobsleigh. If we didn’t get that chance then we wouldn’t be here today.

“Go out there, try something new, have some fun with it.”

The Peterborough Telegraph has followed Shanwayne’s journey from his bid to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics through to this year’s competition.

MORE: Peterborough’s Cool Runnings bobsled pilot Shanwayne Stephens celebrates completing first Olympic competition with Jamaican flag

MORE: Hold on tight - it’s bobsled runnings!