Photo: Atomic
Benjamin Alexander hopes to follow in the footsteps of the Jamaican bobsleigh team, a pioneering group of unlikely winter sports athletes, who 34 years ago defied all odds and competed in the Olympic Winter Games in 1988 in Calgary.
Alexander, 38, believes he can qualify for the Beijing Olympic giant slalom under the B criteria of the International Olympic Committee, which is supported by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and encourages and offers some mercy to athletes from various nations to participate in the Games. The IOC allows each country to nominate a male athlete and a female athlete according to criteria B, provided that the athletes can demonstrate a certain level of professionalism.
“The new FIS President, Johan Eliasch, has made it clear that diversity among small nations is something he is very keen to help and support,” said Alexander.
With less than a month to go before the Beijing Games open on February 4, Alexander realizes his chances of qualifying have been wiped out. It was slowed down by a case of COVID-19 and mild temperatures across Europe, resulting in insufficient snow conditions for racing.
“I’m fully recovered from COVID – I’ve had about nine or 10 days without skis which hasn’t helped and I’m currently facing hot temperatures as a hindrance,” Alexander said Ski racing media. “But we were able to organize the next series of national championships and there are still a few races to go. I feel quietly confident, but we have about 10 more days, so everything will be revealed soon. “
Alexander, the son of a Jamaican father and English mother, first skied about six years ago on a trip to Whistler, Canada, when he was making records as a Globe-trotting DJ.
The two Jamaican and British citizen reflected and set the bar high to continue the Olympics in March 2020, after a positive experience attending the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games as a spectator.
Originally from Northamptonshire, UK, Alexander has spent a lot of time skiing and trying to achieve racing speed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and across Austria. He has stayed in shape during the pandemic, pursuing another new hobby, ski touring in the Tetons.
Pursue the dream with the help of the ski racing community
In 2021, Alexander enrolled for two months at Camp Schild Skiracing on the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier during the warmer months and also trained for about a month in Hintertux.
In his pursuit of what may seem like a far-fetched Olympic dream, Alexander informs that he has received broad support and encouragement from the larger ski community. He skied with Steven Nyman and his wife Charlotte Moats, trained with five-time Olympian Sarah Schleper and received advice after running a double GS against Olympic downhill champion Tommy Moe in 1994.
Alexander also attended a Mahre Brothers run camp at Mt. Hood, and hiked and skiing with a group on the Grand Teton in Jackson that included American downhill racer Breezy Johnson.
“The good thing about the ski industry is that everyone has been so warm and helpful,” says Alexander. “Almost everyone I’ve been in contact with about my story ends up helping me and that’s in part because of my persistence and tenacity. “
Alexander is currently receiving equipment and is sponsored by Atomic Skis, Leki poles and Stio, a winter sports clothing outfitter in Jackson Hole.
The aspiring Olympic skier, with an engineering degree in London, strategically calculates his route, and despite the cancellations of the FIS races in the Czech Republic and Slovakia he planned to attend, still has more options.
“It’s a highly subjective measure – the stallion depends on the guy who wins and the quality of that person,” Alexander says of getting the FIS points needed for Olympic qualification. “What is obviously different at my level, the basic FIS level compared to the World Cup, is that the penalty of the race depends a lot on the guys who are in the race.”
Alexander says he has a better result around 2.4 seconds before Olympic qualifying with the countdown.
“It’s going to be close, but it’s a strange task that I still believe is possible, but it has been made even more difficult by the pandemic,” Alexander said.
He remains optimistic, but realistic.
“I was naive enough to think that skiing was just going fast.
“Going really fast on the freezing conditions that we’re bound to do and going around doors that are placed in the most boring places possible is a whole different type of wax ball.
“It’s incredibly technical,” says Alexander. “I’m going to have to be lucky a few races.”
Inspire future Jamaican skiers
Alexander points out that even if he fails to qualify for the Games, he plans to remain active in ski racing and hopes to cheer on the young athletes of the more than two million Jamaicans living abroad in the United States, in the UK and Canada to continue skiing. or snowboarding.
“I hope I can encourage my diaspora to get their kids to buy skis or snowboards and maybe in a generation or two Olympics from now we can have a bunch more Jamaicans represented, “said Alexander.
“I have actually identified the next athletes who will be of age to compete in FIS and represent Jamaica for the 2026 Games and I hope to maintain my involvement with the Jamaican Ski Federation regardless of my own outcome.”
Follow Brian on Twitter – @Brian_Pinelli
