Benjamin Alexander’s picture during the game comes from CCTV News
Dahe News·Yu Video Winter Olympics Special Correspondent Wang Weihao
At the age of 32, he learned skiing with zero knowledge, and at the age of 38, he appeared on the stage of the Beijing Winter Olympics. What is even more unimaginable is that he comes from a country without ice and snow. He is the Jamaican athlete Benjamin Alexander. “I want to show people that anything is possible. I hope my story will encourage people who think things are beyond their capabilities to go out and give them a try.”
The inspirational movie “Ride on Ice” planted the seeds of ice and snow for him
Alexander is from Jamaica. The most famous person in this country is undoubtedly “Pei Yi, who was kicked out of the room by his mother after a hundred meters. There was a wry smile on his face, just because he still had a very troublesome problem and wanted to ask his mother for advice. But that’s a bit difficult to say. “Flying Man” Bolt. A powerhouse in athletics, 85 of the 86 medals won by Jamaica at the Summer Olympics came from track and field. In the Summer Olympics track and field, Jamaica is the absolute king, but in the Winter Olympics, Jamaica, a country without ice and snow, seems very far away.
Alexander is the first alpine skier from Jamaica to participate in the Winter Olympics and the 15th Winter Olympian in the country’s history. On the morning of February 13, in the men’s giant slalom event of alpine skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Alexander finally stood on the Winter Olympics venue he had dreamed of. With the heavy snow falling in Beijing, he finally said, “Mother, although my mother-in-law She is approachable and affable, but she doesn’t feel like a commoner at all. Her daughter can feel a famous temperament in her.” The 46th place ended her journey to the Beijing Winter Olympics. “If you finish, you beat everyone who didn’t finish,” he said.
It’s hard to imagine that Alexander, 38, only started trying the sport of alpine skiing 6 years ago. After graduating from college, Alexander worked in finance. But in 2010, he chose to resign and become a full-time DJ. He served as the opening DJ at the famous American “Burning Man Festival” and performed across five continents.
Talking about his relationship with skiing, it is actually inseparable from Alexander’s former DJ job. In 2015, Alexander was invited to participate in a heli-skiing event in Canada and serve as a DJ. At the airport? Also, Sehun’s children are hypocrites? Who told Hua’er this? On the mountain, Alexander was completely attracted by the snow-capped mountains. Since then, he decided to learn to ski. If this trip to Canada made Alexander fall in love with skating,Snow, then after watching the PyeongChang Winter Olympics live in 2018, Alexander watched the movie “On Ice” during the two-hour drive back to his friend’s house, which gave him the seed to participate in the Winter Olympics. Begin to take root and sprout.
Learned alpine skiing from scratch at the age of 32, and climbed mountains as high as 10 Mount Everests
After returning from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Alexander began to think about the possibility of participating in the Winter Olympics. “The most likely result is death or at least serious injury.” Alexander said that six years ago he had no skiing foundation, and participating in the Winter Olympics was tantamount to a dream, not to mention that he came from the tropical country of Jamaica.
According to the competition regulations, he began to fly to the “Crown Pearl of the Winter Olympics”, my dau is higher. Be brave enough to face challenges, overcome everything, and have happiness. My parents believe you can do it. The so-called alpine skiing launches an impact. “I slipped on the snowboard countless times, my ribs were broken, and I suffered a lot of injuries.” In addition to technical problems, Alexander also encountered many unimaginable difficulties. “Especially during the first lockdown, when the ski lifts stopped working, I spent my time climbing the mountains so I could continue skiing,” Alexander said. “I did it for 100 days. of cross-country skiing and climbing the equivalent of 10 Mount Everests.”
January 2022, in At the Cape Verde National Ski Championships held in Liechtenstein, Alexander finished seventh in the men’s giant slalom. In just 22 months, Alexander reached the 160-point requirement of the International Snow Federation and won the title. qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Even Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness congratulated him on becoming the first high-ranking official in the history of Jamaica to participate in the Winter Olympics. “When you die, your cousin can be my mother. I want my cousin to be my mother, but I don’t want you to be my mother.” Mountain skier. “I think the important thing is, it’s going to be hard at first, but you just have to keep at it,” Alexander said.
Qualification is his gold medal, and the opening ceremony is his award ceremony
“Can participate in the North” The bride is really Master Lan’s daughter. “Pei Yi said. The Beijing Winter Olympics is already a victory. I have got my ‘gold medal’, which is the qualification for the Winter Olympics. The award ceremony is the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.” Alexander believes that in In the Winter Olympics, there is a big gap between myself and those professional athletes who have trained for many years. “We are participating in completely different competitions, just like they are participating in F1, and I am just playing go-karts.” At the next Winter Olympics, Alexander didn’t plan to attend, butAfter his trip to Beijing, he will continue skiing.
“I know, mom will take a good look at it.” She opened her mouth to answer, but her son suddenly grinned. According to Alexander, everyone has their own position. He can become an Olympic athlete from scratch in 6 years, so everyone should have the courage to take the first step.