Sun-drenched nations go all out at Beijing's Winter Olympics to make their dreams come true
The three Olympic Villages in Beijing, suburban Yanqing and adjacent Zhangjiakou officially open their doors to athletes from around the world for the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday. The Beijing village will predominantly house athletes competing in sports such as skating. Photo: VCG
Haiti and Saudi Arabia have athletes competing in the Winter Olympics for the first time, Jamaica sends its first skier, Trinidad and Tobago delegation returns to the Winter Olympics after a 20-year hiatus … Many countries without winter sports traditions are going all out for making history at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which will kick off on Friday. Inspired by the spirit of sportsmanship, these sun-drenched nations have never given up on their Winter Olympic dreams.
Saudi Arabia will compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics for the first time in the country's sports history, and for the first time in the GCC countries, according to Arab News. Saudi Arabia skiers Salman Al-Howaish and Fayik Abdi achieved the qualification points in the alpine skiing competition which will be held in Beijing.
Trinidad and Tobago's men's bobsled team has qualified for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The country has been waiting for this news for a long time since its athletes last competed at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City [in the US] in 2002, Brian Lewis, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, announced at an online press conference on January 19.
"Winter sports are not a strong point for Caribbean countries, but the fact that Trinidad and Tobago's men's bobsled team is participating in Beijing is an important opportunity for the development of winter sports. If our people can continue to be engaged, there will be more possibilities in the future." Lewis said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times.
"Although there is only sunshine in Trinidad and Tobago, we have nationals living in North America and Europe where they have winter sports traditions, and these people and their descendants can help us in this area," said Lewis.
Lewis indicates that in countries surrounded by sand and waves, where temperatures rarely dip below 20 degrees, sticking to winter sports for the Winter Olympics is undoubtedly tough.
But the president believes that the sprint and tradition of the region's countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, serves as an advantage, which could be translated into the bobsled event.
As Lewis mentioned, second-generation immigrants from the Caribbean like Jamaican alpine skier Benjamin Alexander have been major factors in these countries' participation in the Winter Olympics.
Benjamin Alexander, a British-born alpine skier who is half Jamaican, finally qualified for the Beijing Games a month before they began, becoming the first Jamaican skier to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Benjamin's country, Jamaica, is sending a 20-member delegation, including nine athletes, to the Beijing Games, the largest in the country's history. The four-man bobsled team has qualified for the first time since 1998.
"I hope my story can inspire people, that the things you think you can't do, you can do," Benjamin Alexander told the Global Times in an exclusive interview previously.
"I know that the Chinese government has succeeded in getting 300 million people to participate in winter sports, and that makes me very excited," Benjamin added.
"We are here for sports, we are here because of the Olympic spirit," Pedro Farromba, Portuguese delegation's head of mission to the event, told the Global Times on January 29, noting that they are looking forward to developing winter sports and getting more people involved in Portugal, a country surrounded by sun and sand.
As many officials and athletes interviewed by the Global Times mentioned, their countries do not have excellent snow-covered fields, training equipment, or even sufficient funds to train, but "we are playing a different game."
Despite the challenges and obstacles posed by the epidemic, athletes from all over the world are still gathering together in Beijing. They said they support the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and are confident that the Games will inspire the whole world and bring everyone together.
Global Times
Trinidad and Tobago's men's bobsled team has qualified for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The country has been waiting for this news for a long time since its athletes last competed at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City [in the US] in 2002, Brian Lewis, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, announced at an online press conference on January 19.
"Winter sports are not a strong point for Caribbean countries, but the fact that Trinidad and Tobago's men's bobsled team is participating in Beijing is an important opportunity for the development of winter sports. If our people can continue to be engaged, there will be more possibilities in the future." Lewis said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times.
"Although there is only sunshine in Trinidad and Tobago, we have nationals living in North America and Europe where they have winter sports traditions, and these people and their descendants can help us in this area," said Lewis.
Lewis indicates that in countries surrounded by sand and waves, where temperatures rarely dip below 20 degrees, sticking to winter sports for the Winter Olympics is undoubtedly tough.
But the president believes that the sprint and tradition of the region's countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, serves as an advantage, which could be translated into the bobsled event.
As Lewis mentioned, second-generation immigrants from the Caribbean like Jamaican alpine skier Benjamin Alexander have been major factors in these countries' participation in the Winter Olympics.
Benjamin Alexander, a British-born alpine skier who is half Jamaican, finally qualified for the Beijing Games a month before they began, becoming the first Jamaican skier to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Benjamin's country, Jamaica, is sending a 20-member delegation, including nine athletes, to the Beijing Games, the largest in the country's history. The four-man bobsled team has qualified for the first time since 1998.
"I hope my story can inspire people, that the things you think you can't do, you can do," Benjamin Alexander told the Global Times in an exclusive interview previously.
"I know that the Chinese government has succeeded in getting 300 million people to participate in winter sports, and that makes me very excited," Benjamin added.
"We are here for sports, we are here because of the Olympic spirit," Pedro Farromba, Portuguese delegation's head of mission to the event, told the Global Times on January 29, noting that they are looking forward to developing winter sports and getting more people involved in Portugal, a country surrounded by sun and sand.
As many officials and athletes interviewed by the Global Times mentioned, their countries do not have excellent snow-covered fields, training equipment, or even sufficient funds to train, but "we are playing a different game."
Despite the challenges and obstacles posed by the epidemic, athletes from all over the world are still gathering together in Beijing. They said they support the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and are confident that the Games will inspire the whole world and bring everyone together.
Global Times
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