A promotion committee for the ShitamachiBobsleigh Network Project announced at a press conference Monday that their Tokyo-crafted sled will not be used by the Jamaican two-woman crew at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening Friday in South Korea.
The project said it entered into a contract with the Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation in July 2016 that stipulates a penalty fee of 68 million yen (about $618,000) for not using the sled. Although they plan to continue negotiations, the project has threatened legal measures such as a claim for damages if they cannot confirm the sled is used.
General manager Junichi Hosogai said, "It's sad. Why are promises being overturned so easily?"
(Supplied photo)
The group of independent-factory workers said they have made numerous improvements to their bobsleigh, making use of feedback from the Jamaican athletes and the latest technology.
But after the Jamaican team failed to receive a Japanese bobsleigh during the World Cup in December due to a transportation trouble and achieved a good result with a sled made in Latvia, they informed the Japanese side of their intention to continue using the same sled at the Pyeongchang Games.
Members of the promotion committee have already arrived in Pyeongchang and offered to provide maintenance for the bobsleigh but were denied after it was revealed not to be the project's sled.
A Japanese workers in Tokyo's so-called "shitamachi" working-class area supplied the bobsleigh to the two-woman Jamaican team, aiming to improve the Caribbean nation's chances in the Winter Games.
Jamaican athletes failed to qualify for the 2006 Turin Olympics and 2010 Vancouver Olympics. At Sochi, Winston Watts and his partner, Marvin Dixon finished 29th in the two-man event.
The project began in 2011 among factory workers in the "shitamachi" area, which has many small but skilled factories, aimed at demonstrating their techniques to the world with the development of sleds for athletes.
Japanese craftsmen make bobsleigh for Jamaica ahead of Pyeongchang Olympics
