Harrogate man Axel Brown will compete for the Trinidad & Tobago bobsleigh team in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which kicks off today.

If you ask someone about bobsleigh, most people will recall the 1993 smash hit film Cool Runnings. It featured the trials and tribulations of the Jamaica team as it battled to compete in the Winter Olympics.

Brown was born and raised in Harrogate. He attended Harrogate Grammar School from 2003 to 2011 and excelled at American football and taekwondo before discovering bobsleigh in 2014.

He previously competed for Great Britain but qualified to switch to Trinidad & Tobago because his mum is from Pointe-a-Pierre in the country.

For the uninitiated, bobsleigh is a winter sport where teams barrel down an iced track in an aerodynamic sleigh while racing against the clock.

Brown has a crucial role as the pilot of the team, and sits in the sleigh to steer it along so it can produce the greatest speed.

The Caribbean country hasn't competed in the games for 20 years, and Brown is hoping their efforts can inspire a new generation.

Read more:

• Harrogate council to be asked to support return of assets to communities


• Harrogate district church leaders back mosque

The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 opening ceremony takes place today, where Brown will be cheered on from back home.

Brown is a supporter of Harrogate horticulture charity Horticap, which showed its support for him when some of its students held the Trinidad & Tobago flag.