The Mexican Bobsled Brothers: The Tames Quartet

Even though the world did not see four bobsledding brothers from Mexico in Calgary 1988 on the podium, the Tames quartet, which entered the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of siblings to take part in one high-level sporting event, deserves a place in stories. So this is the story of the Mexican bobsled brothers who made their dream come true.

The Mexican Bobsled Brothers: The Unusual Dream

Jose Eduardo, Jorge Antonio, Luis Adrian, and Roberto Tames arrived at the 1988 Calgary Games in a school bus without heating, but with a really big dream. They came to Canada to write a new chapter in the history of the Olympics. The Tames brothers were not the first Mexicans to compete in the Winter Olympics (Mexico was one of the first Spanish-speaking countries to take part in 1928). But the moment they got off the bus with stiff fingers and stiff muscles, they were about to become the first four brothers to compete in the same sport at the Winter Olympics. By the way, 1xBET sportsbook offers special bets for Beijing 2022. Don’t miss your chance to place your bet and enjoy the Olympics!

“The idea to visit Calgary came about when I was a child. I loved watching bobsleigh on TV and fell in love with the sport: they [bobsledders] were my heroes. I imagined myself as a pilot, ”recalled Roberto Tames in an interview with the Mexican newspaper El Informador in 2018. Roberto’s unusual dream pushed him not to a great hope for a podium, but to a desire to become a part of Olympic history.

Snowless Bobsleigh

He managed to convince the brothers. And they began to train on wooden bobs with wheels in their home state of Jalisco. Due to the lack of snow and ice, training runs were held on track and field tracks and asphalt slopes. They rode down hills without snow in pursuit of the unusual dream of becoming the first bobsled brothers in Mexico.

“I talked to the brothers and we decided to take part [in the Olympics]. So we went to the [Mexico] National Committee and shared our ideas. Then I didn’t even know the name of this sport! For me, it was a sled on ice! They thought it was a great idea, but they couldn’t support us with money. One way or another, we have reached the Olympics, ”added Tames.

Training in the snowless Jalisco was not enough. So the four brothers pooled their savings and turned to their father, who, despite not being a wealthy man, became the main “sponsor” of the team. With the little money they had, the brothers traveled to upstate New York with their Olympic dream safely hidden in their luggage to experience the sport.

Traveling from New York to Calgary in a Van

And to keep the dream alive for years, the Tames had to work multiple jobs, including a Mexican restaurant in Dallas, Texas. But in the end, with a supported sleigh, a lot of work, and a little luck, they managed to do what seemed impossible. With a tiny budget, they decided to travel from New York to Calgary in a van. In the middle of the journey, after several accidents due to the brothers’ lack of experience in driving on snowy winter roads, the van eventually broke down. Unable to get the van repaired, the brothers were forced to rent a school bus – one with a broken heater to get to their destination.

Once in Calgary, the place of Roberto Tames’ longtime dream, they finally shone. But not so much because of the ability on the track or their blinding speed, but simply because we were there: “When we arrived in Calgary, we were all a novelty,” Roberto said of the 1988 Games, where they were overshadowed in the English-language press. Jamaican debut bobsledding team. “The media were interested in our presence, and therefore they were with us all the time.”

The Mexican Bobsled Brothers: How Did They Perform?

The Tames brothers took part in these Olympic Games together, but not in the way they originally planned. Instead of racing in one four-seater bob, they decided to compete in a two-seater bob competition, where Jorge and Jose drove one bob and Roberto and Luis Adrian the other. Jorge and Jose became winners, at least within the family. They passed the brothers by a hundredth of a second. As a result, the Tames brothers took 36th and 37th places, respectively, out of 41 declared teams. And they were 16 seconds behind the USSR national team, which won gold medals.

But Roberto Tames, the man who conceived this whole story of “dark horses”, was not satisfied. He went on to take part in other Olympics. As the online sportsbook news in Mexico states, after Calgary 1988, he competed in the 1992 Albertville Games and the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

However, the Calgary experience remains special to him. “The first Olympic experience is the best,” he says. “Following your national flag at the opening ceremony is the greatest moment of your life”.  And in his case, he shared this moment with the brothers. This fact is an Olympic triumph in itself. So this was the story of the strong will of the Mexican bobsled brothers. This year you can’t bet on Mexico at the Winter Olympics 2022. But 1xBET has special bets for other countries to win the top medal. Check out the online sportsbook news in Mexico for the best odds.

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