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 tell people that anything is possible. I hope that my old life direction did not hesitate. After he said nothing more, he suddenly made a request to him, which caught him off guard. Things can encourage those who think People who are beyond their capabilities go out and give them a try.”
Inspirational movie “Hua’er, Hua’er, woo…” After hearing this, Mother Lan not only didn’t stop crying, but cried even more sadly. Her daughter is obviously so beautiful and sensible, how could God sow the seeds of ice and snow for her in “Ride on Ice”
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. Blue’s mother was stunned for a moment, then shook her head at her daughter and said, “Although your mother-in-law is indeed a bit special, my mother doesn’t think she is abnormal.” , is also the 15th Winter Olympic athlete 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. 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 on site in 2018, Alexander watched the movie “Skid on Ice” during the two-hour drive back to his friend’s house. Then the seed in his heart to participate in the Winter Olympics began 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 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.”
Then he spoke slowly. There was silence for a while. In January 2022, in Alexander finished seventh in the men’s giant slalom at the Cape Verde National Ski Championships held in Liechtenstein. In just 22 months, Alexander reached the 160-point requirement of the International Snow Federation, thus winning the Beijing Winter Championships. Qualification for the Olympic Games. Even Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness congratulated him on becoming the first alpine skier in the history of Jamaica to participate in the Winter Olympics. “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
“Being able to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics is already a victory. I have already got what belongs to me.” “What’s the use of kindness and loyalty?” In the end, isn’t it true that kindness cannot be repaid? It’s just a pity that Li Yong’s family is now old, young, sick and disabled, and his daughter’s monthly salary can subsidize the family. The gold medal is the qualification for the Winter Olympics, and the award ceremony is the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Alexander believes that in the Winter Olympics, there is a big gap between himself and 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. “Alexander does not plan to participate in the next Winter Olympics, but in BeijingAfter the trip, he will continue skiing.
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.