Sandra Kiriasis has quit as coach of the Jamaican bobsleigh team a few days before the start of their competition and has been condemned as a “destructive force” by a senior official.

Kiriasis, a world, European and Olympic champion as a competitor for Germany, “elected not to continue her position” as driver coach to the team days before the start of competition, the Jamaica Bobsleigh announced.

“We are deeply disappointed in her decision to leave the programme. We thank her for her invaluable contribution to JBSF and contributing to the success of Jamaica’s first female bobsled Olympic appearance,” it said in a statement.

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That, however, was quickly superseded by its president, Christian Stokes, who told Reuters: “The lady was a hugely destructive force on the team. 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.

“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.”

The BBC reported that the departure of Kiriasis, who it said owns the sled in which the Jamaicans are planning to compete, came after she was asked to change her role. “I have never known such disappointment in this sport in my life,” Kiriasis, Olympic champion in 2006, was reported as saying. “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.”

The acrimonious split was certainly not part of the script that has captured global attention as the Jamaican women have been inextricably linked with the appearance of their men’s team at the 1988 Games in Calgary, which inspired the film Cool Runnings. Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell, a gold medallist in the 100m relay at the 2013 world championships, will become the country’s first female Winter Olympians next week. Practice is on Saturday with the opening heats on Tuesday.