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The GB medallist now representing Jamaica in bobsleighImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Winter Olympics medallist Joel Fearon has competed for Great Britain, Switzerland and Jamaica across bobsleigh and athleticsByAlex SeftelBBC Sport EnglandPublished14 February 202653 Comments
“The fastest man in the UK this year and he’s not even going to the Olympics.”
That was the line belted out by the commentator as Joel Fearon stunned onlookers by running the 100m in under 10 seconds – breaking one of the most revered barriers in sport.
Frustratingly, the performance came just after the cut-off date to qualify for Team GB at Rio 2016.
A decade on, the 37-year-old is at his third Winter Olympics, but his first for Jamaica’s bobsleigh team, who he came out of retirement for last year.
He remembers that day in 2016 as one that changed his life.
“I don’t know if I ever believed that I could do something like that,” he told BBC Local Radio.
“It was surreal for a long time because I wasn’t one of the British superstar sprinters.
“But there I was, running sub-10, number one in the country and I remember thinking anything can happen.”
Only four British men have ever run faster on UK soil than his time of 9.96 seconds to win the England Athletics Championships in Bedford that day.
Running fast was just one piece of the jigsaw for Coventry-born Fearon, as he was trying to make ends meet, juggling between work and bobsleigh training.
“I’ve done all sorts of jobs, at one point, I was a pizza delivery man,” he recalled.
“I would run Diamond Leagues in the daytime. In the evening, I’m off delivering my local pizzas, just whatever needed to be done.”
Image source, ShutterstockJoel Fearon, Adam Gemili and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey ran against each other at the 2013 London Diamond League before joining up with the British relay squad at that year’s World Athletics Championships
Athletics was Fearon’s first sporting passion, but his bobsleigh career has been unique.
He has competed for Great Britain, Switzerland and Jamaica over a period of 15 years.
His bronze medal from the Sochi 2014 Olympics was only awarded five years later because of retrospective doping bans.
The sport was initially suggested to him by his coach, partly to help support his family.
“I was pretty broke and some trials came up,” Fearon explained.
“It was a tough transition, there is a lot of lifting, you are a mechanic and there are a lot of long hours and time spent out in freezing cold conditions.
“If I didn’t hold out [on] those rough days, I would have never known what was coming in the future.”
Winter Olympics 2026
Milan-Cortina, February 6-22
Fearon initially came fifth in the four-man bobsleigh in Sochi, and with hindsight, he would not change the way it happened.
“We knew we were good enough. Knowing that we didn’t [win a medal] actually just kept me striving,” he stated.
“I went straight to a relay camp. I didn’t soak it in, didn’t even enjoy it.
“If I would have got that medal, I probably wouldn’t have run sub-10. I wouldn’t have had the same drive.”
At the time Fearon received it, he was on a season-long loan to Switzerland’s bobsleigh team, with whom he won another bronze at the Europe Cup.
“They bought me, actually. They needed experienced athletes for one of their junior drivers, Timo Rohner,” he remembered.
“We were the Swiss number one team that year. [Rohner] is at the Olympics with me [at Milan-Cortina], that’s nice because this is his first Olympics and I had a little part in his journey.”
Image source, Getty ImagesJoel Fearon, Bruce Tasker, Stuart Benson and John Jackson were retrospectively awarded Winter Olympic bronze medals in 2019
Like many athletes, Fearon’s career has been affected by agonising injuries at key moments.
He has wires in his lower leg bones holding them together, following a serious issue picked up while running for the British relay team.
“After that, I semi-retired from athletics, I still went and did a few things, but it wasn’t the same,” he stated.
“It took a good two-year chunk out of my athletic career.”
But while that pain eased over time as he recovered, what hit his family next was hard to put into words.
In 2023, his sister Natasha Morais was murdered.
Feeling scared and suffering with insomnia, Fearon retired from all sport.
“It was tough for all of us. We are all still dealing with it in our own ways,” he stated.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to do sport again. I really struggled with anxiety.
“I was becoming afraid to leave my family alone.”
Coming out of retirement to represent Jamaica has given Fearon fresh focus and brought joy to a grieving family.
But he did not necessarily expect to be pushing a sled at another Winter Olympics.
“It was an athlete and coach role, I can do all the jobs across bobsleigh, even just organisational jobs,” stated Fearon, who met rapper Snoop Dogg while training in Italy.
“But we ended up getting in the sled. I’ve done six races and won six races, so I’m a pretty good lucky charm.
“I think they’re going to have me pushing a few more times before I’m done,” he joked.
Fearon’s father is Jamaican, while his maternal grandparents are also from the Caribbean island.
“My dad was so proud. I’ve never seen him excited about sport before,” he added.
“I didn’t even know these guys a year ago and they’re all like my brothers, I get more excited about them racing than I do myself racing.
“I’m probably taking on a dad role. Seeing how much they’re excelling, it’s just really exciting for me to watch and wonder where it could go.”
Image source, Getty ImagesAnother former GB sprinter, Mica Moore, led Jamaica’s bobsleigh team through the opening ceremony in Milan-Cortina
The crossover between Fearon’s two sports is a well-travelled path.
Fellow sprinter and bobsleigher Mica Moore is also part of Jamaica’s squad in Milan-Cortina, having previously switched allegiance from Great Britain.
Four years ago, Montell Douglas became GB’s first female summer and Winter Olympian, while this year, track and field internationals Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson are in their squad.
They all have explosive power and speed over the initial acceleration phase where pushing the sled effectively is so vital.
But perhaps the crossover that Fearon is most excited about is the association with the 1993 hit film Cool Runnings about the Jamaican bobsleigh team.
“I love it, because I watched it when I was 10,” he recalled.
“I had no idea I was ever going to have anything to do with bobsleigh at that point, never mind Jamaican bobsleigh.
“I’ve gone from being an Olympic medallist and part of this team, which is great, but now I’m a Disney character. Now I’m in a movie, it’s different.
“We are the most famous team in the world, so it’s for us to go out and do our flag proud.”
From pizza delivery man to Olympic hopeful
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