- Utah-based Backcountry is providing warm clothing for Jamaica's bobsled team for the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
- Made from upcycled materials, Jamaica's team aims for medals in 2034 with Backcountry's ongoing design collaboration.
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — The Olympic Jamaican bobsled team is working to make a comeback, and a Utah company is supporting it through the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
"We're working on it, and we're working just as hard as everybody else, if not harder," Jamaican Olympian Tyquendo Tracey said.
If you can't join them, might as well make their clothing. Knowing the country's history, outdoor gear company Backcountry is excited to help build Team Jamaica up for the Olympics.
"A few years ago, we started working with them. They needed warm clothes to prepare for their events, for practices," Jodie Taylor, head of brands for Backcountry, said.
"We do rounds of testing with them to make sure that this performs in extreme temperatures and extreme conditions," Backcountry's head of design, Jen Hirsch, said.
As the team aims to reach new heights, with goals for all three of its sleds to medal in Utah in 2034, Hirsch is excited to be working with a team that has such a storied background.
"Their first runs were when I was a kid, and I grew up on it," Hirsch said. "So, to now, as an adult, be able to be part of them being back in the Olympics and back on all these qualifying podiums is pretty cool."
The folks at Backcountry design the clothing the team wears before they hit the track using upcycled e-waste materials from a company called Xpore.
"We, here on the design team, and all the experts under this roof, call ourselves gearheads because we are obsessed with creating products that perform for the lifestyle and activities that we love and pursue here in the Wasatch," Hirsch said.
Watching Team Jamaica perform and work toward its dreams is a big deal, and the team said all the support means a lot.
"We look for every support that we could get," Tracey said. "We thank everybody for all the support that we've been getting."
