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Jamaican bobsledder gets Canada nod |
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Jamaican-born bobsledder Lascelles Brown has received his Canadian
citizenship - just in time for next month's Winter Olympics in Turin,
Italy.
Brown, a medal hopeful who has been competing with Canada on the World Cup circuit for two seasons, received word just ahead of the federal elections that his citizenship has been approved.
The call to Brown came from none other than outgoing Immigration Minister Joe Volpe. It came just days before the January 29 deadline for presenting the Canadian bobsled team list to the International Olympic Committee. Had Brown's request not been granted by then, he wouldn't have been eligible to compete for Canada in Italy.
The granting of his early citizenship required cabinet approval and there were concerns that wouldn't happen with the election looming. A number of ministers were involved in helping, but they apparently requested anonymity.
The 31-year-old is the brakeman for Olympic champion Pierre Lueders and had been waiting for a reply on his situation since his citizenship application was submitted on July 28, 2005.
"That made my day. In fact, that made my month, my week, my year," Brown said of the call from Volpe. "I just smiled. I kept laughing, like, I can't believe it, you know?"
Lueders, a 35-year-old Edmonton native, told CBC Sports Online during the Christmas break that it would take a "miracle" for Canada to win a medal in either the two- or four-man events if Brown was ineligible to compete in the Olympics.
A gold medal contender in both events, Brown says he has one thing in mind when it comes to becoming Canadian.
"Canada is more competitive than Jamaica and my goal was to prove to the world that I could be good at something," said Brown, who competed for Jamaica at the Salt Lake City Olympics four years ago.
Lueders and Brown had a memorable 2004-05 season that included a world title, four World Cup victories and several other podium finishes.
Jamaica meanwhile will not have a bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics for the first time since making their debut at the 1988 Games in Calgary, Canada.
The Jamaicans burst onto the scene at the Calgary Olympics with a performance immortalised in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Cool Runnings.
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