A MAN, born in North Yorkshire, is on the verge of making history as the driver of the Trinidad and Tobago's bobsleigh team at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Axel Brown, born in Harrogate, is in the Chinese capital training with his new teammates for the South American country, after they qualified for the games for the first time in 20 years with a seventh place finish in their maiden competition.

Brown, whose mother was born in Trinidad, admits he was inspired by the movie Cool Runnings, about the 1998 Jamaican bobsleigh team’s unlikely qualification - and pulled together a £100,000 bid to restart Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic Bobsleigh Team in just seven months during lockdown.

Axel, 29, said: "After a number of years in the sport, I loved the idea of representing my mother’s home nation at the Olympics. After some research online and many calls during lockdown, we found out that it might just be possible.

"We can’t expect to be the favourites, we’re running on a tiny fraction of the budget of the top national teams. We are here working hard and we’ve got the chance to show what we can do, and love being the underdogs."

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The four-member team, made up of pilot Axel Brown, brake-man Andre Marcano and alternate Shakeel John, along with brake coach, Thomas Harris is currently in China training, having endured a gruelling 76-hour series of officially chartered flights to meet all visa and quarantine requirements to ensure entry into Beijing Games Village.

Trinidad and Tobago’s British high commissioner, Harriet Cross, who also comes from Yorkshire, said: "The creativity, bravery and can-do spirit of Axel Brown is real showcase for the talent which springs from Trinidad and Tobago as well as a clear example of good old fashioned Yorkshire grit.

"When you put the two together, you get something really special. I will be cheering on the team and look forward to celebrating their success."

Axel, a former American college football player, discovered the sport of bobsleigh while studying at Colorado State University between 2013-14. After his return from the US, he was a team Great Britain bobsleigh brake-man for five years, then had two seasons as pilot before deciding to undertake the challenge of re-forming the Trinidad and Tobago team with the help of his family and sponsors.

He hired a legal team in Trinidad to secure the permissions required to fund and enter the Olympic bid for the country. He then set about networking to find the best athletes available to train and compete in the qualifying rounds.

The Trinidad and Tobago team are now set for more days of training and practice runs before the two-man bobsleigh event takes place on the February 14 and 15.

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