Cool Runnings 🎥 1993 Movie Info

Plot Summary

Jamaican sprinter Derice Bannock trains to qualify for the 100-meter dash in the forthcoming Summer Olympics in Seoul. He fails to advance in the trials when fellow runner Junior Bevil accidentally stumbles and falls, knocking down Derice and another competitor, Yul Brenner. Derice petitions for the race to be rerun, but committee leader Barrington Coolidge denies the request, though he feels pity for Derice. He invites him to try again in four years or to try out for one of the only two other sports Jamaica competes in: boxing and cycling.

Derice spots a photograph in Coolidge’s office, which shows his late father, Ben, standing next to a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Coolidge identifies the man as Irving “Irv” Blitzer, a former bobsled champion who was disqualified for cheating in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and now works as a bookie close to Derice’s home. Derice realizes he could enter the upcoming Winter Olympics in Calgary by forming a bobsled team, recruiting his friend Sanka Coffie, a pushcart derby champion. Derice and Sanka track down Blitzer, who initially refuses to help Derice but reluctantly agrees to coach the team after learning that he is Ben’s son.

A recruitment drive fails when only Derice and Sanka stay until the end of a preliminary meeting, but Junior and Yul arrive late, allowing Blitzer to form a four-man team. Junior, like Derice, cannot wait another four years to enter the Olympics, and Yul wants to get off the island. The team trains with Blitzer, though Coolidge refuses to provide the $20,000 needed to participate in the Olympics, believing the team’s inexperience will bring disgrace to Jamaica. Derice tries and fails to find sponsors, and he, Sanka, and Yul have little success with a range of fund-raising ventures. Ultimately, Junior sells his car to finance the trip. Upon reaching Calgary.

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