In November 1987, Jamaican sprinter Derice Bannock trains to qualify for the 100 metres in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He fails to advance in the trials when fellow runner Junior Bevil accidentally stumbles and falls, knocking down Derice and another competitor named Yul Brenner.
Derice petitions for the race to be rerun, but committee leader Barrington Coolidge denies the request though he feels pity for Derice. He invites Derice to try again in four years' time, or to try out for one of the only two other sports Jamaica competes in, boxing and cycling. Derice spots a photograph in Coolidge's office, which shows his late father Ben standing next to a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Coolidge identifies the man as disgraced American bobsled champion Irving Blitzer, who was disqualified for cheating in the 1972 Winter Olympics, and now works as a bookie close to Derice's home. Derice realizes he could enter the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary by forming a bobsled team, recruiting his friend Sanka Coffie, a pushcart derby champion.
Derice and Sanka track down Blitzer, who at first refuses to help Derice but reluctantly agrees to coach the team after learning that he is Ben's son. A recruitment drive fails when only Derice and Sanka stay to the end of a preliminary meeting, but Junior and Yul arrive late, allowing Blitzer to form a four-man team. Junior, like Derice, cannot wait another four years to enter the Olympics, and Yul just wants to get off the island. The team train with Blitzer, though Coolidge refuses to provide the $20,000 needed to participate in the Olympics, believing the team's inexperience will bring shame to Jamaica. Derice tries and fails to find another sponsor, and he, Sanka, and Yul have little success with a range of fund-raising ventures. Ultimately, Junior sells his car to finance the trip.
Upon reaching Calgary, Blitzer registers the team and borrows a bobsled from one of his past teammates. The Jamaicans struggle to adapt to the cold and the race conditions, but improve through exercise and hard work. Derice begins to copy the techniques of the very efficient Swiss team. The East German team, and their captain, Josef Groole- the current bobsled world record holder- constantly heckle the team during tryouts. Eventually, all the members of the team except Derice get into a bar fight with the East Germans. Derice reprimands them severely.
After weeks of training, the team successfully qualifies for the finals, only to be disqualified by the Olympic committee, as retribution for Blitzer's prior cheating scandal. Blitzer confronts Kurt Hemphill, his former coach, now a judge in the committee, asking him not to punish the Jamaicans, as they had nothing to do with his past actions. The team is reinstated, and Junior rebuffs his father's attempt to bring him home, firmly stating his intent to remain in Calgary and represent Jamaica.
The team's first day on the track is a disaster, and they finish in last place. Sanka disapproves of how Derice is copying the Swiss team's methods, and encourages the team to find their own style of competition. They greatly improve on the second day, finishing in eighth place. During their final race, one of the bobsled's blades detaches, causing it to flip over and crash. Determined to finish the race, the team pick up their bobsled and carry it across the finish line, earning the applause of the other teams and the spectators, including Junior's father, despite their loss. An epilogue explains that the team returned to Jamaica as heroes, then returned to the Winter Olympics four years later to participate as equals
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