Winter Olympics 2014: Jamaica all set for Cool Runnings II as bob team qualifies

Elise Christie raises her arms in triumph after winning the European 1,000m final (AFP/Getty)

It’s the story that spawned a Disney movie and, 26 years after Jamaica’s bobsleigh team appeared for the first time at the Calgary Olympics, we may finally be set for a sequel.

Despite struggling for funding, Winston Watts and Marvin Dixon have secured their place in Sochi next month in the two-man event, with Jamaica’s official Twitter account paying homage to their Cool Runnings predecessors by posting the message: “Jamaica, we have a...”, a modified version of the film’s tagline. It was later deleted.

Watts, 46, came out of retirement to attempt to quaify and is now looking for donations to raise $80,000 (£50,000) to help him realise his dream of competing in a fourth Olympic Games.

Their British counterparts in the four-man event will have two teams competing after a last-gasp effort in Austria yesterday saw former Olympic sprinter Craig Pickering and his team squeeze through.

Elsewhere, Chemmy Alcott’s hopes of reaching a fourth Winter Olympics hang in the balance after bad weather forced her comeback race to be cancelled. Alcott returned to training only last month after recovering from a broken leg and was asked to prove her fitness by this weekend before the British team is named on Wednesday.

Short-track skater Elise Christie had a better weekend, winning the European 1,000m title to confirm her status as a medal contender in Sochi.