CORTINA, Italy – Trinidad and Tobago’s two-man bobsleigh team has declared their Winter Olympic campaign a resounding success after achieving their primary objective of not finishing last in the highly competitive event. The Caribbean nation finished 25th out of 26 teams with a combined time of 2:51:05, narrowly ahead of Israel who occupied the final position.
Pilot Axel Brown, a 33-year-old former British athlete who switched allegiance to represent his mother’s homeland, expressed jubilation alongside brakeman De Aundre John. “It’s absolutely mission accomplished,” Brown told BBC Sport. “Me and Dre have been able to do something special together.”
The achievement becomes particularly remarkable considering the team’s complete lack of state funding. Brown emphasized the significance of their accomplishment: “For little Trinidad and Tobago to do that with no state funding is huge. To beat another nation at the top of their game as well that feels like a win – it is a win.”
Despite recording their fastest run in the third heat, the team finished outside the top 20 and did not advance to the final round. However, Brown and John will have another opportunity to compete when they participate in the four-man event later this week.
The competition itself was dominated by German teams who completed a clean sweep of the podium. Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer captured gold, while legendary pilot Francesco Friedrich with Alexander Schuller took silver. The bronze medal went to Adam Ammour and Alexander Schaller.
For Brown, simply qualifying for the Games represented a gold medal victory. This marks his second Olympic appearance representing Trinidad and Tobago, having previously competed at Beijing 2022. The former American football player and national-level taekwondo medalist took up bobsleigh at age 21 with the specific aim of reviving Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh program.
The Caribbean nation had qualified for three consecutive Winter Games from 1994 to 2002, but Brown’s leadership ended a 20-year absence when he guided them to qualification for the Beijing Games. Their previous appearance in the two-man event in China resulted in a 28th-place finish out of 30 teams, placing them above Jamaica and Brazil.
Qualification for the Cortina Games proved even more challenging as the team had to secure spots in both the two-man and four-man events – a feat they accomplished for the first time in their history.
Reflecting on their Olympic journey, Brown acknowledged the team’s supporters: “It was very special to stand at the top of the track with Dre. I had my dad on the start line with me and my coach Lee Johnston, who has been the cornerstone of this team and helped us make a team out of a bunch of misfits.”