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Jamaican bobsled team can't practice because of missing luggage

The Jamaican bobsled team is at the Olympics for the first time since 2002. (Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Jamaican bobsled (Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

The Jamaicans may have a bobsled team and a bobsled. They even raised more than $120,000 in two days to get to Sochi.

But they're missing some other important equipment — including runners for their two-man sled, helmets, sliding gear and clothes — and so they were unable to make their first practice runs at the site of the Games on Wednesday, according to an Associated Press report.

The Jamaicans' luggage didn't arrive with them in Sochi because driver Winston Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon missed their connecting flight in Moscow after bad weather delayed them in New York.

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"The sled is here," Watts said. "But the blades that we put our heart out to get, the airline maybe left them back in New York. None of us have clothing."

If the equipment doesn't arrive by Thursday, Watts said the team will borrow from other teams to practice.

"I do have a backup plan," Watts said, trying to make light of a "frustrating" situation. "We do have a lot of guys here that want to help us, so I'm excited to see what's going to be the outcome tomorrow."

The 46-year-old Watts leads the team, which is making its first Olympic appearance since 2002. He said he doesn't have any clothes in Sochi other than the track suit and yellow baseball cap he wore to the track on Wednesday. Still, he was happy to be at the Games.

"There's no such word to explain how I felt being here," he said. "The atmosphere, the fans, the friends. It's pretty exciting. We are the most lovingest people, so every moment is always positive. We always keep smiling. That is our motto."

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