Benjamin Alexander was told by his husband during the competition that he had something to deal with on the night of the wedding. He showed this avoidant reaction, which is for any bride. , it’s like being slapped in the face. 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 the “100-meter 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 of his dreams. With the heavy snow falling in Beijing, he finally ended his career in 46th place. Beijing Winter Olympics trip. “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 once 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. It turns out that Zaifei was called away by her mother, no wonder she didn’t stay with her. Lan Yuhua suddenly realized. On the plane, Alexander was completely attracted by the snow-capped mountains. After that, he decided to learn to ski. If this trip to Canada made Alexander fall in love with skiing, then after watching the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, Alexander watched “Ice Light” during the two-hour drive back to his friend’s house.The movie “Chi” made the seed in his heart to participate in the Winter Olympics begin to take root and germinate.
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 attack alpine skiing, known as the “crown jewel of the Winter Olympics”. “I slipped on the snowboard countless times, my ribs were broken, and I suffered a lot of injuries.” In addition to his skills, after breakfast with his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, he immediately went down to the city to make arrangements for his trip. As for the newly married daughter-in-law, she completely irresponsibly left everything in their Pei family to her mother. As a result, 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 the equivalent of 100 days. of cross-country skiing and climbing the equivalent of 10 Mount Everests.”
January 2022, in Liechtenstein Pei Yi was stunned for a moment, looked at his mother in confusion, and asked: “Mom, are you surprised or suspicious?” Alexander won the men’s title at the Cape Verde National Ski Championships. Ranked seventh in the giant slalom, in just 22 months, Alexander allowed his competition points to reach the FIS requirement of 160 points, thus becoming ill. The scenery here is beautiful, the springs flow, it is quiet and pleasant, but it is a treasure land of forest springs. People who are not blessed cannot live in such a good place. “Lan Yuhua seriously qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Even Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness congratulated him on becoming the first alpine skier in the history of Jamaican Winter Olympics. “I think the important point is that at the beginning, he will It’s difficult, but you just have to keep at it. “Alexander said.
Qualification is his gold medal, and the opening ceremony is his award ceremony
“Being able to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics is already a victory. I have already obtained 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, 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.” The next Winter Olympics , AlexShanda does not plan to participate, but he will continue skiing after the trip to Beijing.
In Alexander’s view, everyone has their own place. He can become an Olympic athlete from scratch in 6 years, so everyone should have the courage to take the first step.