Bobsleigh circles point to Pitter’s world-class talent
Published:Sunday | January 25, 2026 | 12:17 AMGregory Bryce - Staff Reporter
With Jamaica qualifying for three bobsleigh events at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (JBSF) are seeing a lot of return in their development of Shane Pitter as team pilot.
Jamaica will compete in the women’s mono-bob, the two-man bobsleigh and the four-man bobsleigh races at the upcoming Winter Games.
Pitter is the team pilot for the both the two-man and four-man races, an achievement which he earned due to his success in the North American Cup circuit.
In the two-man races, he is joined by crew members Joel Fearon, Nimroy Turgott and Junior Harris.
In the four-man races, his crew includes Harris, Fearon, Tyquendo Tracey, and Andrae Dacres.
Chris Stokes, president of the JBSF, says his organization is not surprised by Pitter’s success in the sport, having overseen his development over the past three years as a part of their priority of building a strong pool of local talent.
RETAINED KEY PILOTS
“We recruited, or retained really, two key pilots, Adana Johnson at 16 years old, and Shane Pitter at 22 years old,” Stokes explained.
“This is part of a strategic decision we made, which was termed the Back to the Well Programme, where we focused on recruiting athletes who lived and trained and grew up and competed in Jamaica.”
Pitter’s development in the sport was overseen by renowned coach Todd Hays, who was handed the reigns by the JBSF.
Hays’ resume as a former Olympic medallist-turned-coach, allowed him the perspective of being a perfect fit for the JBSF’s ambitions.
Stokes said under Hays’ guidance, Pitter quickly became one of the best pilots on the North American circuit.
“What quickly became evident, based on the effort that has been put in over the last three or four years, based on the recruiting that we have done for pushers, and based above all else on the rapid development of Shane Pitter as pilot, we found ourselves very quickly being the top of the pack in the North American circuit,” Stokes explained.
“Shane was the best pilot in North America. He had won our first gold medal and by the end of the season, we had won eight gold medals and three bronze medals.”
Pitter will now be tested against several of the global elites at the Winter Olympics, where Stokes envisions Jamaica is capable of achieving a podium finished by 2034.
BENCHMARK
He explained 2026 will be used a measuring stick for where Pitter stands globally before they make any predictions or medal expectations.
“We are not making a prediction for 2026 because we simply don’t know how good Shane is. We need to see him racing against the Germans and the Swiss, the best pilots in the world.
“He’s been so dominant [in North America] but it’s like you have somebody winning high school sprint races by two or three meets. Yes, you have a time but you don’t know how they’re going to do when they step up to the senior level.”
Stokes is confident Jamaica can see success in bobsleigh for years to come as Pitter is still considered a junior athlete in the sport.
“He has a long and bright future ahead of him so we are not making any predictions. What we do know is that every test that has been given by our coach, he has passed with flying colours,” Stokes said.
“We do know that the coach was coached many, many medallists, including the four-man bronze medallist from 2022 from Canada said to me that Shane is the best bobsled talent as a pilot that he has seen in his lifetime.”
He continued, “So we have to be patient. He’s still young and inexperienced.”