Jamaica's historic women's bobsleigh debut at the Winter Olympic Games here has been thrown into doubt after German head coach Sandra Kiriasis quit ©Getty Images

Jamaica's historic women's bobsleigh debut at the Winter Olympic Games here has been thrown into doubt after German head coach Sandra Kiriasis quit days before the start of competition following a row over a change in her position.

According to the BBC, Kiriasis, a gold medallist at Turin 2006, resigned in protest at a decision from the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (JBSF) to alter her role from head coach to track performance analyst.

The 43-year-old German also claimed she legally owned the sled which the team, comprised of Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, Carrie Russell and Audra Segree, would be using at Pyeongchang 2018.

It has led to concerns over whether they would have to withdraw.

JBSF President Christian Stokes insisted that was not the case and the women's team, making their maiden Winter Olympic Games appearance, would not pull out of the event.

In an interview with Reuters, Stokes criticised Kiriasis following her depature, claiming she was a "destructive" influence.

"The lady was a hugely destructive force on the team," said Stokes.

"Now that she is off the team synergy is much better, tension is down and athletes are now able to focus in a much healthier environment."

The Jamaican women's bobsleigh team will not be affected by the role, the JBSF has claimed ©Getty Images
The Jamaican women's bobsleigh team will not be affected by the role, the JBSF has claimed ©Getty Images

He added: "We have our high performance director, Jo Manning, and coach, Dudley Stokes, who have been with the team all season and who have been the ones driving performance, so frankly, things have only improved with her departure.

"If you come on the team you have to be a team player. 

"There are no gods and goddesses here."

Kiriasis claimed she had "never known so much disappointment in my life" following her resignation, which came just days before the women's quartet are due to begin official training on Saturday (February 17).

"The athletes have told me they don't understand why this has happened as they have no problem with me and we have a good relationship," she said, according to the BBC.

The row overshadows the country's participation at the Games here, which has invoked memories of the men's team which competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Their team failed to finish in the four-man event, but were the inspiration for the iconic 1993 Hollywood film Cool Runnings.

Jamaica are also due to make their Winter Olympic debut in skeleton at Pyeongchang 2018 after Anthony Watson received a reallocated quota place.