A Harrogate man is captaining Trinidad and Tobago's bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics, which begin today (Friday) in Italy.
Axel Brown, 33, has spent a decade pursuing a place at the highest level of winter sport and will lead the Caribbean nation’s team at the Milano Cortina Games, which run until 22nd February.
Qualification was confirmed after a high-enough finish at the final qualifying event at Lake Placid in New York state on 11th January.
Axel, who grew up in Harrogate, narrowly missed out on selection for Team GB ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
Following that disappointment, he used his dual citizenship to establish a Trinidad and Tobago team in 2021, drawing on his family links to the country through his mother.
The squad, made up entirely of Trinidadian athletes, will be one of 28 sleds from 17 nations competing at the Games.
Axel said:
“We are a Caribbean nation competing in the same sport and I’m the guy who has gone and recruited track and field athletes that have narrowly missed out in the Olympics."
The team will compete in Italy and is made up of Shakeel John, 24, De Aundre John, 23, Micah Moore, 23 and Shakeel John, 24.
Axel said:
“Everyone we meet and interact with is just really excited to hear about the story and happy that we're representing Trinidad and Tobago. It's just been overwhelmingly positive.
"Just to be validated by the interest is never something that I sought after or a reason why, but it's of course nice that people care and people want to know more about our story.”
When asked what would constitute success, Axel said ‘not finishing last’ and that he would happily finish 27th out of the 28 teams.
He also said he often hears about comparisons with the 1993 film Cool Runnings, which tells the story of Jamaica’s Olympic bobsleigh team.
He said:
“I probably hear about Cool Runnings on a daily basis. Weirdly in the sport in Britain, you’re really told not to acknowledge it. But I loved the film, and I am happy to embrace it.
“There are a lot of parallels, so I embrace it because I’d love to be even a part of that movie and what that sled of 1988 was."
Axel and his team are set to take to the ice later this month, with Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh campaign beginning in mid-February.
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