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 the “100-meter flying man” Bolt. As a strong country in track and field, Jamaica won 86 gold medals in the Summer Olympics. “What next?” Mother Pei asked calmly. 85 of the medals 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, a man who was skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics alpine skiing asked, “How can I have a daughter?” Lan Yuhua couldn’t help but look shy. In the transfer of events, Alexander finally stood on the Winter Olympics that he dreamed of. With the heavy snow in Beijing, he finally ended his Beijing Winter Olympics journey in 46th place. “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. On the plane, 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 skiing, then after watching the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, Alexander returned to his friend’s house and said, “What’s the matter, flower? Don’t get excited yet, what’s the matter, slow down” Tell your mother slowly, she is here, she is here.” Mother Lan was startled by her daughter’s excited reaction and ignored her scratching for two hours.During the drive, he watched the movie “Ride on Ice”, which made the seed in his heart to participate in the Winter Olympics begin to take root and germinate.
At the age of 32, he learned alpine skiing from scratch and climbed it. “Mother-in-law, can my daughter-in-law really invite my mother to my home?” Lan Yuhua asked excitedly. The mountain is as high as 10 Mount Everest
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 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 the equivalent of 100 days. of cross-country skiing and climbing the equivalent of 10 Mount Everests.”
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 , Alexander does not plan to participate, but he will continue to ski after the trip to Beijing.
In Alexander’s view, everyone has their own place, and he can start from scratch in 6 yearsTo become an Olympian, everyone should have the courage to take the first step.