Jamaican Bobsledder Sam Clayton Jr Dies From Coronavirus at 58

Sam Clayton, Jr., who was part of the first Jamaican Bobsled Team, has passed away due to coronavirus.

The athlete and sound engineer passed away from the virus late last month, the New York Times reports.

Sam was part of the team in the early days of the program, however, he did not make the team that made history at the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta. It was the team that went on to inspire the 1993 film, Cool Runnings.

Devon Harris, who was on the team, opened up about Sam‘s passing.

“I am saddened by the news of the passing of my teammate Samuel Clayton. I haven’t spoken with him in many years but news of his untimely death was a punch to the gut,” he shared. “Although he never made the Olympic team Sammy was an integral part of the Jamaica bobsled team. He was among the very first four selected to spearhead Jamaica’s entrance into Winter sports and the Winter Olympics.”

He continued, “The first time I ever went down a bobsled run, Sammy was the driver. We had some fun. He was my roommate, we became friends and he was definitely a trailblazer, a patriot, who competed fiercely while representing Jamaica and obviously went on to blaze a trail in the music industry as well. He was an amazing human being who will be sadly missed.”

Sam died on on March 31 in Kingston, Jamaica.