No. 14 Vol. 5
New View Media Group • 1-800-691-7549
March 14, 2018
Second Time Olympic Contender Shares Experience On Bobsled Team
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By Stefanie Sears uring the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, the Jamaica Women’s Bobsled Team made its debut. This initiated from fans’ references about the film “Cool Runnings” (1993), which told the story about the original Jamaican bobsled team in the 1988 games. “I don’t really derive inspiration
from the movie but rather from the original members of the 1988 Calgary Olympic Team that is still very much involved with the current team,” said team pilot Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian. Fenlator-Victorian grew up in Wayne and is no stranger to the Winter Olympics. She was last seen competing for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in So-
chi, Russia. A dual citizen, this time around she decided to complete for Jamaica in honor of her father, Cosman Fenlator, and joined the team in 2015. “After competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics, I wanted to represent all of my nations and culture and decided to transition to Team Jamaica in hopes to represent them in 2018,” explained Fenlator-Victorian. “It requires some paperwork and permission from the International sporting committee once you have represented a nation in a previous World Championships or Olympic Games. “My parents raised me to em-
Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, pictured on left.
brace all of my multiple cultures and heritage rather than picking sides,” she says. “It was important for them that I was educated and exposed to all sides of where I come from and leave a legacy for all my communities and their future gen-
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erations. For me it wasn’t a switch but returning home. I have always been Jamaican and it has always been my home too. I have been tested and gone through so much in the last four years, but paving this road for others to use as a catalyst towards breaking down more barriers and creating more history is the greatest reward yet. The support from my fellow Jamaicans on the island and overseas has been priceless!” Fenlator-Victorian began bobsledding in Sep-
tember 2007, but beforehand she ran for the track and field team at Rider University. During spring of her senior year, her coach Robert Pasquariello suggested that she try bobsledding. He submitted an athletic resume to the national team so that she could possibly be invited to a rookie camp, which worked out. “I love competing, I love challenging myself and pushing past my own personal limits as well as those placed on us,” said Fenlator-Victorian. Fenlator-Victoricont. on page 4