Sochi Winter Olympics 2014: Winston Watts Talks Jamaican Bobsled Team Schedule After Lost Luggage
Jamaica's bobsled team is hoping to have a Cool Runnings finish at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, but they might have a hard time doing so without the rest of their equipment.
The team lost some of their luggage while traveling to Russia for the Winter Games.
"We didn't have nothing -- no equipment at all," Winston Watts, Jamaican bobsled pilot, said before midnight on Tuesday when he realized that the luggage was missing from Sochi International Airport's carousel. "There's nothing I can do right now. I'm just going to leave it to the chef de mission to deal with it. I just want to concentrate on the track."
Watts suspects that the luggage is still in New York, where the team missed their flight to Moscow.
"The sled is here, but the blades that we put our heart out to get, the airline maybe left them back in New York," he said. "None of us have clothing."
The missing luggage is an yet another obstacle for the team, who managed to raise over $120,000 worth of donations in just two days in order to pay for the trip to Sochi.
"We have just got all the funding together and have arrived at the Olympics, but then this happens," Watt said. "It's really frustrating."
The team already missed one day of unofficial training at the Sanki Sliding Center track, but they hope to receive their equipment, which includes helmets and sliding suits, by tomorrow morning. If not, the team will have to rely on good sportsmanship.
"I do have a back-up plan," Watts said. "We have a lot guys who's going to help us. They want to help us."
According to reports, Watts was still very happy just to be in Sochi.
"There's no such word to explain how I felt being here," he said. "The atmosphere, the fans, the friends. It's pretty exciting. We are the most lovingest people, so every moment is always positive. We always keep smiling. That is our motto."
The XXII Olymic Winter Games begins Feb. 7 and ends Feb. 23.