- Will you consider this?

You're born in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica.

But like every child, you have dreams, and while some of those dreams you thought should come true, they delivered a much larger audience for you.

Stay right here to meet this inspirational dreamer and his connection to Central Illinois.

(upbeat music) As a barefoot boy, he could run and smoke the competition.

He managed to graduate from the prestigious Jamaican Defense Force and then went on to becoming a member of the first and due to a Disney movie, of the legendary Jamaican bobsled team, Devon Harris joins me now via Zoom as we keep on pushing.

Welcome, Devon.

- Oh, man.

Thank you so much for having me.

Pleasure.

- Well, you're coming to Peoria.

We'll get to that in a minute.

But you have quite a story to tell.

You had 15 kids in your family?

- Yeah, it's a big family.

I'm the first though.

The first of 15.

- Well, and then you, you know, I mean you were running barefoot in the streets of Kingston.

Jamaica is not known for its wealth.

It's a vacation spot.

But you had a dream of one day being in the Olympics.

I mean, that's kind of a crazy dream.

- Yeah, you know, well, Jamaicans are dreamers and I'm one of those Jamaican who dream big.

I have to say though, that you mentioned the army, that my first and the dream that drove me the most when I was younger was actually to become an Army officer, which was rather daunting.

And, you know, and after I accomplished that, I remember I was 21 years old, walking down to the officers' mess and having this really intense conversation with myself.

You know, "So you're 21 years old, you have achieved your big dream.

You're an army officer now.

What are you gonna do with the rest of your life, man?"

I'm like, "Oh yeah, the Olympics".

And so I started redoubling my efforts in order to achieve that dream.

- But you thought you wanted to go to the Olympics as a runner, and you were a mid-distance runner?

You weren't a sprinter.

- Yes.

You know, the good and bad thing about being in Jamaica, growing up in Jamaica is that everybody sprints fast.

And if you're not one of those who was blessed with that fast twitch muscle, then you know, you're not winning anything.

And so I really, really wanted to win something.

And so I started running 800 and 1,500 meters, and that's where I thought I would compete at the Olympics in.

And so, you know, back in, this was 1987, when I redouble my effort to compete in the Olympics, I thought I was gonna compete in the '88 Seoul Olympic Games.

But as fate would have it, it turned out that I competed in the '88 Calgary Olympic Games instead.

- Which seems really crazy.

But the movie "Cool Runnings" brought the story to the people who hadn't paid attention to the Olympics.

They took a lot of liberties with the story, however, but you made it.

So in 1987, September of 1987 is the first time you ever saw a real bobsled, is that right?

- That's actually correct.

The team selections were in Jamaica, and that's just, you know, really about testing your athletic prowess.

And after we were selected, we went to Lake Placid, New York and met our coach there, Howard Siler and he had a two-man bobsled in his driveway.

And that's the first time we're seeing a bobsled, which you know, you look back now, it's kind of a crazy story.

How can you expect to go to the Olympics in February of '88 and the first time you're actually seeing a bobsled was in September of '87?

But, you know, as luck would have it, we pulled it off.

- Well, absolutely.

So I guess somebody had the idea, because you have push cart derbies in Jamaica every year, and so it's kind of the same form, but really, really not very close at all.

- Not really.

Yeah.

So the push carts are very prevalent in Jamaica.

We use them to transport wares in the marketplace and every year, yeah, they would kind of spruce them up and they race them down this winding mountain road.

And two Americans saw that, two crazy guys, going down the side of a hill, in a cart.

Except for the ice, it reminded them of bobsledding.

And then they discovered that a big part of a bobsled racing start, of course, Jamaica has lots of sprinters, that you could transfer those skills to bobsled pushing.

And so, yeah, you think about the fact that it's a winter sport, it's more geared towards sprinters than I'm a middle distance runner.

All the odds were stock stacked against me, but here I am.

- Yeah, you are.

- A retired Olympic bobsledder - And you're still inspiring people.

So let's get back to a little bit of the story.

So you didn't have any sponsors, but there you are.

You have qualified for the bobsled team and then you needed to eat while you were training.

Tell me a little bit about that.

- Mm-hmm.

That was difficult.

You know, we just found a way.

You know, my favorite phrase to use is to keep on pushing, which obviously as a bobsled and knowledgeable, we just found a way to keep on pushing.

I often tell the story of being in Calgary, this one particular day.

Incredibly cold, long hard day of training, and all I could afford for dinner was one chicken leg, a roll, and a small soda.

We were over in Europe still trying to figure out, you know, how we're going to feed ourselves.

And that's when we came up with an idea to create these bobsled shirts, so everybody would remember us in 1988, and remember the shirts, Jamaican bobsled, the hottest thing in ice.

And we were going to clubs at night with those shirts on our arms and would dance up beside a couple and whip one out and go, "Hey man, do you wanna buy a shirt?"

And the guy would say, "No" and the girl says, "Yes".

And he ends up paying and we had money for dinner.

So we just figured a way to keep going.

- And then, so I mean, when you were in Jamaica and you were just kind of doing a push cart to learn the timing and everything, but then when you were actually on the ice, number one, you didn't know how to function on the ice.

And number two, you had to get all that timing down in a completely different atmosphere.

So you were watching a lot of the other teams and taking in, absorbing all of that information.

Is that right?

Asking questions and absorbing?

- Yes.

There's a couple of pictures on Facebook of my friend from Australia who I raced against posted and this is at the Olympic Games.

And so even at the Olympics, we were always watching.

And so there's a picture of me watching them, the Australian go down, and another one of me watching the Swiss team go down.

So we were always watching and learning because we knew we didn't know enough and we didn't have a lot of time to go through the normal trajectory.

So we were really pushing ourselves hard to transition from being in Jamaica to being in a winter environment, being on a real sled, and then just trying to, in addition to asking questions, through observation, pick up any nuances that we could that we could then apply to our own pushing on the sled.

- Were they pretty generous with the information?

The movie kind of depicts maybe you were, you know, clowning around, but you really did get some good legitimate help?

- Yeah, well, you know, the movie is a comedy and I think because people think of us Jamaicans as easygoing people, they figure they'll do a comedy, which is fine.

It's entertaining, and I get that.

But then there are some very serious lessons in the movie as well.

And the depiction of the commitment that we had and certainly my experience back in '88, the people were helpful.

None of the conflicts that you saw in the movie existed really.

And so before the Olympics, people tended to be more helpful before the Olympics, less helpful during Olympics.

- [Christine] Right, because competition is competition.

- We're on a range where everybody's playing for all the marbles, you know?

- Right, exactly.

And you wanted those marbles.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, you started out, you were supposed to be maybe a two man, two person bobsled, but at the last minute you added a fourth.

- Yeah, we actually did.

We did compete in a two man event.

Dudley Stokes and Michael White did those events.

And then the second week of the Olympics, and this is how crazy our story is, we were not entered as a four man team.

We had never, ever raced a four man sled.

But during the Olympics, we decided that we will enter the four man And our driver, Dudley Stokes, he had a brother, Chris, who was on a track scholarship in Idaho.

Moscow, Idaho.

And he was now in Calgary to watch his brother race.

It was his first week of exposure to bobsledding And we recruited him that week and in three days, taught him everything we knew about pushing a sled.

And yes, at the end of the week, we pushed the seventh fastest start time.

- That's just amazing.

Just amazing!

And so then in the film and people who watched the Olympics saw you had a crash.

The four men had a crash.

And tell me about that, because how fast were you going and the only protection you had was headgear, really.

- Mm, yeah.

Well, welcome to the sport of bobsledding, right?

Yeah, we were going, I can tell you exactly 78.5 miles an hour.

That's what it says on the screen there.

I remember we're heading down the track and you know, we exited corner eight and we hit the wall.

And in my head, I'm the second guy in the sled, I'm right behind the driver and I'm thinking, "well, that's not good.

But we have a long straightaway before corner nine to correct the issue."

And then we hit the wall again just before we entered corner nine.

I'm like, "Okay, that's definitely not good."

We're going to do what we call a wave.

And if you watch the film, you'll see the sled kinda going in and out of frame.

That's the waving.

And I anticipated that we would get around to the end of the corner and, you know, slam into the wall and continue on our merry way.

But instead we went over, and that's because we had literally ran out of wall.

And that point when the sled should have been going down off the corner, we were going up and we just, we hit.

And I remember thinking, "Oh my God, we're over.

How embarrassing."

And I know people look at the crash and go, "Oh, how, how horrible, how terrifying, they must be fearing for their lives."

And in that moment, I was not fearing for my life.

I was just embarrassed by the fact that we had crashed, we had failed in front of the entire world and we had let down our country.

You know?

That's what was going through my head.

And it's a really long ride.

It feels like forever when you are in a bobsled crash going on in your head.

- But as true Olympians, as true athletes, you got up and you walked away to the end of the track.

- Yes, this is true.

I don't know how dramatic the movie made that look, but you know, it's really was one of those things that you had to do anyway.

You had to get off the track.

So you walk off the track.

You know, the most amazing part of that experience for me is as I was walking down the track, feeling dejected and like a total failure, were how kind the people in Calgary were.

People started to cheer, "We love you, we love you."

And I remember one guy had reached over onto the track to shake my hand and I shook it and then I had to shake almost every other hand as I tried to exit stage left.

So, feeling crappy, but you know, at least for our little while, they made me feel better.

- You stood with pride, backs tall.

So now, in your retirement from bobsledding and you went to the Olympics three times, what are you doing in your spare time?

I know you've written a book.

I have a copy of this.

I don't have the children's copy yet, but when you come to Peoria, we'll get the children's copy as well and we'll talk about that.

But you're an inspiration now.

- Well, you know, I've been very fortunate to have a series of life experiences that allow me to share the insights and lessons from that, that people from around the world are able to relate to.

You know, I often say that success principles are universal and me being able to share my journey of, you know, coming from Olympic guidance as you mentioned, to the Royal Military Academy.

Sandhurst from Jamaica to the Winter Olympics, really lends itself to some valuable life lessons as well.

And so I've been able to travel around the world and I'm excited to come to Peoria as well to share those insights and those lessons.

- Because everyone has failures in their life.

And if they say that they haven't, then they're probably not being very truthful.

- [Devon] Exactly.

- And and you've managed to zero in on that and again, encourage people to keep on pushing because we're all different incarnations of ourselves as we go through life.

- Yeah.

You know, and clearly, the keep on pushing has a bobsledder knowledge.

That's how you start the race, is you push the thing, right?

And even as you're heading down that track, in a real way, you're still pushing against ice conditions, the weather conditions, the twists and turns of the track.

And yes, you're pushing against the limits of your own abilities, right?

You're trying to do better than what you did before.

So it's always a reiterative process, like the reincarnation as you just mentioned.

I think all of us have that ability and I would daresay that responsibility to find a way to identify the skills that we need, whether they be technical skills or interpersonal skills and always work on developing and improving those skills so you can become the best version of yourself.

- And you have a foundation.

You haven't forgotten your roots.

You're giving back to the those less fortunate in Jamaica.

Is that correct?

- Yes.

You know, I think all of us have benefited from someone who has gone before us, every single one of us, right?

And we will never know who that person was down the line two or three generations, that made a difference in our lives.

But those persons are there.

And I so believe that, you know, all of us have a responsibility, I believe, to once you're making some progress on your own journey to find a way to reach back and help someone.

You know, the challenge for most people is that they think that that effort requires millions of dollars, and yes, I do have a foundation.

You don't need a foundation.

I happen to have a foundation because I can so resonate with those kids at my old elementary school.

I am one of them, you know?

I ran around in that same school yard and sat in those same classrooms and I've been around the world a little bit.

You know, the places I could never have dreamt of when I was sitting in those classrooms.

And I want to go back and more than just, you know, provide a breakfast for them and school supplies which are all very important things, you know, hopefully hold myself up as an example, just to go, "Hey I am one of you and I have done this.

And you have the ability, the potential to do the same if not greater."

- So you encourage them to dream as well?

You're providing for them, but you're encouraging them to keep their dreams alive?

- Absolutely.

I mean, you know, one of the things that we all have in common is that we're all kids at one point in our lives, right?

And the things we know about kids is that they all dream!

And I don't want those dreams to be hampered.

I want to pamper them instead.

I want to encourage them.

And so, you know, through the work of the foundation and me going back as a past student of that school, very school, I'm hoping to encourage those dreams.

- Are you also encouraging Bobsledding in Jamaica?

Do you continue to encourage that?

- I have been heavily involved with the federation over the years.

Over the last, what was it, two or so years?

I've kind of stepped back.

But the program is still going, for sure.

- Well, that's pretty exciting.

And I know that there was, after 24 years, I believe it was 24 years, there was a female bobsled team.

So you encouraged them in some way, inspired them.

- Indeed.

I was part and parcel of that.

I ran the program exclusively during the development of that team that made it to Pyeongchang in Korea.

And then of course, you know, the big news was from the last Olympic games where we had a four team qualifying, you know, 24 years or so after our four team made this debut.

So all of that was exciting.

- I bet.

Do you attend a lot of the Winter Olympics as a result of your having participated?

- It doesn't quite work that way.

I have been to most of the Olympic games, or I've attended or, you know, as a spectator, which in the beginning was really, really hard, I have to tell you.

- Because, you weren't participating?

That was hard because you weren't in it?

- Exactly!

Exactly.

You know, my first time going to the Olympics and not competing was in Salt Lake City, 2002, and I felt horrible.

I'm like, "There's no reason why I shouldn't be in this race".

I used to beat him!

You know?

But I've gotten over it now.

You know, I'm in withdrawal.

I was in withdrawal more then.

I've gotten over it now.

And it's just nice to be able to go and kind of just soak up the atmosphere as a spectator now.

- And historic, I you made history, which is, you know, not everybody gets to make history in their lives.

So that must be kind of daunting to you every once in a while to take a look.

And you've kept on pushing, but to take a look and just say, "Wow, that that's pretty amazing."

- Yeah.

You know, when you're doing this, you're not even thinking about the overall impact.

We were not.

We were just trying to learn the sport and then to give a really good representation for our country.

And I remember being in Calgary in 2014 with my teammates from '88 and the team that was trying to qualify for the Sochi Olympic games were filming something.

And I said to the guys, "Wow, can you imagine this?

Can you imagine what we've started and how we have inspired yes, a new generation of Jamaican bobsledders but we have inspired people from around the world."

That's really something special and not something that we had ever anticipated, but really proud to be a part of.

- We in Central Illinois, we're very flat here.

We have a river, we have, you know, some hills.

We're very flat.

But we have a young man who's on the North American Cup team trying to qualify for the 2026 Olympics.

So I'm hoping that you get to meet him.

I interviewed him a couple weeks ago and you can give him some encouragement.

He's the brakeman, and he can keep on pushing.

- Indeed.

Well, that's what brakemen do.

You know, brakemen are pushers and they keep on pushing, but that's amazing.

That's awesome.

You know, it just goes to show, whether you are from a topical, a hilly environment or a flat, you know, flat plains area, it doesn't matter, man.

It's the dream and the drive and desire to do something that may be out of your normal realm, out of your comfort zone, but you can still get it done.

- Yeah.

All right.

So you'll be in Peoria speaking for Founder's Day at the Creve Coeur Club, or affiliated with Creve Coeur Club, in May, the middle of May, May 16th.

And the these are the things you'll be discussing, "Keep on Pushing" and what other messages do you have for us here in Central Illinois?

- Well, I hope to first of all bring that warm Jamaican smile.

- [Christine] Uh huh, I like it.

- So, and have that like, cross-cultural experiences, but yeah.

You know, tell the story of the Jamaican bobsled team.

I think most people are more familiar with the story in the movie, which is, you know, it's loosely based on, on the true story.

I think from our conversation, you get that sense then in many ways, a true story was more incredible than what's in the movie.

And then just the idea, yes, of, you know, having that dream, that vision, that regardless of what the challenges you're facing, you can always overcome those, right?

Your dreams, your vision allows you to be greater than your circumstances suggest that you can be.

And then to recognize that you have to put in that work man, that elbow grease.

- [Christine] Exactly.

- Taking action towards your dreams, you know?

And just dream them and it happens.

And always constantly working on yourself as well and willing to work as a team and persisting, you know?

Those are some of the messages I wanna share.

- So you have been questioned for all these years about this whole experience and especially since "Cool Runnings".

What is one question you haven't ever been asked that you think you should have been asked?

- Ooh, ah, I don't know what that is.

I kind of feel like I've been asked everything in different ways.

I was just asked yesterday because I was speaking, and I wanna say it was perhaps the third time I've ever been asked that question.

It was, "At what point back in '88 did you guys think you couldn't, you wouldn't make it?"

And the answer is, we never thought that, you know?

we embarked on this thing.

And it turned out I realized that, well, it was a little bit more difficult than I thought it would have been but I never thought it was impossible, not once.

- And that is a true athletic competitor's mindset.

And you came from that perfectly.

- Yeah, and you know, I wanna say, yeah, athletes but those people who are determined to achieve their goals, right?

If you have that determination and that drive to achieve, yes, you will find it difficult, but you won't ever, ever think it's impossible.

There's always a chance.

- Good for you.

And that's your message, that's your encouragement.

Well, thank you very much for being here.

I know you're not feeling well, so I hope you're feeling better by the time you get to Peoria and I look forward to meeting you in person.

- Same here.

- Thanks for joining us.

- Thank you for having me on.

- Okay, great.

Thanks for joining us and learning more about the very first Jamaican bobsled team with Devon Harris.

And he'll be in Peoria in May.

Maybe you'll get to meet him.

Again, thank you for being here.

Stay safe and healthy and hold happiness.

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