As the Jamaican team prepares to start their qualifying run, all full shots of the sled show it gray and unpainted, but close-ups show the sled painted with the patterns later used in the film
As the team makes their first downhill run in acceptable time, one wheel can be seen bouncing off the sled. Yet when the sled comes to rest against the Police officer's vehicle all tires are on the sled.
When the team is toasting each other after they paint the sled the labels on the Coke bottles change from the red labels to a different label. Also, Derice's level of soda is constantly changing.
When the team walks out of the Calgary airport, they get on a shuttle that says "Calgary Hotel" on it, but then in later shots they are shown staying at the "Relaxx Inn", not the "Calgary Hotel".
The announcer at the sprint finals says the 100 meters is the final event of the day, yet there are 50 other athletes practicing and warming up for other events.
The Swiss bobsleigh is shown repeatedly with "Schweiz" painted vertically down the nose of the bob. However, Swiss bob teams have traditionally used the French name for Switzerland, i.e. "Suisse".
When the race starts and little boys in Jamaica start to draw timetable on blackboard, there is Finland listed among the countries, but in reality Finland has never participated in bobsleigh at the Olympics.
The sign at the registration table lists the sport as "Bobsled". In reality, the sport is always listed as "Bobsleigh" by the International Olympic Committee. "Bobsled" is the American name.
The Swiss teams were depicted with their sleds and uniforms being red and white. They were in fact dark blue and sky blue and white.
Irv says "meet in that revolving restaurant in thirty minutes" that revolving restaurant is the Calgary Tower and it is impossible to get from Canada Olympic Park and to the top of the Calgary Tower in thirty minutes.
When a East German team member goes to congratulate to the Jamaican team for their victory, he says that he will be seeing again in 4 years (at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France) but by 1992, East Germany had been merged with West Germany since 1990.
The film is set in 1987/88 nobody knew the Berlin Wall would be coming down in 1990; so his statement isn't a mistake in context.
The film is set in 1987/88 nobody knew the Berlin Wall would be coming down in 1990; so his statement isn't a mistake in context.
While Derice is traveling to various businesses seeking funding for the team, the montage puts all the executives in the same office behind the same desk; only with different decorations.
In the Jamaican qualifying scene, when they are getting ready to go, we see a shot of their feet. In that shot the "new" Jamaican sled can be seen, yet they only have new costumes, not a new sled yet. In the next shot the sled is the "old" sled.
On the first day of the Olympic competition, there is a shot of flags waving in the wind. The flag of the Russian Federation is shown next to the American flag. However, in 1988, Russia was a part of the Soviet Union and would have used the Soviet Flag. The flag of Romania shown is also the post-1989 flag, with no central emblem.
The movie is set in 1987 and 1988, but some cars from the early 1990s can be seen outside the Relaxx Inn in Calgary, Canada.
When Irv Blitzer is registering for bobsled tryouts, the man at the computer is using a computer that was first introduced in the early 1990s, and the film is set in 1988.
After Jamaica's second tournament run, there is a nighttime shot of the Calgary skyline. During this shot, you can see the Banker's Hall Building. That building wasn't completed until 1989, and the movie takes place in 1988.
Towards the beginning of the movie Derice goes for a run, Joy asks him where he's going and he responds "Calgary" however he competes in track and field which is a summer event, his answer should have been Seoul(South Korea) as the summer Olympics were held there in 1988.
The board of results drawn up in the Jamaican village bar lists England as a competing team. England does not field separate teams in Olympic events; it only competes as part of a British team.
At the beginning of the film, when Derice is unable to qualify to the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletics, the president of the Jamaican Olympic Comitee tells him that to travel to the event he must practice either Cycling or Boxing, as those are the only other sports where they would participate.
Actually Jamaica also participated in Table Tennis and Weightlifting.