On the morning of Feb. 13, Benjamin Alexander, 38, arrived at the National Alpine Ski Center to prepare for the men's giant slalom in alpine skiing.
Although alexander ranked 46th in the cumulative ranking after two rounds of competitions and did not qualify for a medal, his appearance at the Beijing Winter Olympics has made history.
Unlike other athletes who have been exposed to skiing since childhood and have been trained in systematic skiing, Alexander did not learn to ski until 6 years ago. On January 13, 2022, Alexander qualified to represent Jamaica at the Beijing Winter Olympics and became jamaica's first alpine skier in Jamaican history to participate in the Winter Olympics.
On February 17, the Beijing News interviewed Benjamin Alexander, alpine skier of the Jamaican delegation. Alexander said it was an "extraordinary" trip to the Winter Olympics. In 6 years, he grew from a music DJ to a Winter Olympic player. He pointed out that with enough determination and perseverance, anything is possible.
During his life in the Winter Olympic Village, Alexander also gained a lot of warmth and touch, danced with the staff in the early morning, received hand-painted gifts prepared by the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, and he felt the emotional connection between people from the interaction. Alexander lamented that China has prepared for the Beijing Winter Olympics at a world-class level.
On February 17, a reporter from the Beijing News spoke with Benjamin Alexander, an alpine skier from the Jamaican delegation. Video/Produced by Beijing News
Dancing with the staff in the early hours of the morning, "At that moment, I felt the connection with each other"
Beijing News: About two weeks ago, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, you waved the Jamaican flag and walked into the National Stadium. Looking back on that moment now, how did you feel? Alexander: I can't even believe it was two weeks ago, the Beijing Winter Olympics trip back to me like a lifetime. I was the Flag Bearer of Jamaica at the opening ceremony and I am very proud to be given this prestigious honour.
I think it also shows that Jamaica is looking forward to broadening the range of motion and not being limited to snowmobiling. It is hoped that in the near future, these new projects will bring a medal to Jamaica.
Beijing News: How do you evaluate the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics? Alexander: The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was simply fantastic and wonderful. It's definitely the most important activity I've ever been involved in in my life. Usually, I'm not a nervous person, but when I walked into the venue, I was a little flustered. In terms of preparations for the Winter Olympics, China has indeed shown world-class level, and the work is amazing.
On February 17, a reporter from the Beijing News spoke with Benjamin Alexander, who said that the Beijing Winter Olympics would have world-class facilities. Photo/ Screenshot of the EarthWire video
Beijing News: During your stay in the Winter Olympic Village, you released many interesting videos, what made you have the idea of recording your life with videos?
Alexander: Over the past two years, I've been preparing for training almost from scratch until I started this trip to the Winter Olympics. So it's very important for me to record things along the way.
Although there are many epidemic prevention measures in the Winter Olympic Village in response to the new crown epidemic, many people enjoy life in it. I showed people the stories that happened in the Village of the Winter Olympics and got a lot of positive feedback, which will motivate me to keep doing it.
Beijing News: One of the videos has attracted special attention, you and the staff in protective clothing are dancing in the restaurant, can you tell us the story behind this? Alexander: (Haha) We crossed different time zones along the way to Beijing, and when we first arrived, I was still struggling with jet lag. In addition, I shared a room with the coach, who was a big guy who snored at night. It was so hard for me to sleep, so I had to go to the restaurant with the stereo speakers to play music. Subsequently, the staff also came to dance with me.
It's really interesting. In general, it is not easy for us to have a special (emotional) connection with workers who wear protective clothing from head to toe. But at 4:05 a.m. that day, I was dancing with the staff, and that emotional connection was really amazing.
Received a heart-warming painting from a Chinese child, "He led the whole class to cheer for me"
Beijing News: The Beijing Winter Olympics also prepared special gifts for the participating athletes, that is, 7,500 paintings of teenagers from all over China. How do you feel when you see a painting? Alexander: I found a blue cylinder in the bag for the Beijing Winter Olympics, opened it, and inside was a hand painting. I really appreciate the effort people put into thinking and working hard to accomplish something. This painting not only took a lot of time and effort, but also required the creator to have the ability to paint. Behind these paintings are the basic information of the painter. They're still elementary school students, which is simply amazing.
Benjamin Alexander received the painting "Short Track Speed Skating Dream". Courtesy of respondents
Beijing News: After seeing the painting, what touched you to want to contact this little boy who painted it? What kind of response did you receive? Alexander: Someone spent hours preparing this painting for me, and it would be rude for me to ignore that without even a basic thank you. Their contact details were marked on the back of the painting, so I replied to the message, which read: "Hello, I'm Benjamin Alexander, from the Jamaican ski team, click on this link to see a video about me." Thank you so much for the painting, I enjoyed it so much and hope you tune in for my ski race on February 13th. ”
The other person's reply was also very sweet. I first received a video of a young kid's skating training, which gave me a better idea of the painter. In the continuous communication, he also cheered me on and thought that I could do it. Finally, I received a long 2-minute video where his entire class was cheering me on. Interestingly, my friend also reprinted these videos on Chinese social platforms, which were loved and followed by many Chinese friends.
Beijing News: Overall, how do you evaluate the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics? Alexander: The facilities are really fantastic. From our bridges and tunnels in and out of Yanqing Winter Olympic Village, we can see that China has put a lot of time and effort into training and competing for winter Olympic athletes and built world-class facilities. I hope this will encourage more Chinese people to participate in skiing and continue to use these facilities.
The facilities [at the Beijing Winter Olympics] are absolutely world-class, and it's really incredible that I can be a part of it. If only I had been allowed to stay longer after the event so I could continue my ski training.
In terms of epidemic prevention norms, everything is going very smoothly, the prevention and control work in the Winter Olympic Village is doing a good job, and daily testing is also very convenient. In the context of the new crown epidemic, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee needs to face many difficulties to organize such a large-scale event, and they have done their best.
From DJs to skiers, a "crazy" Olympic dream come true
Beijing News: Before you became a skier, you were a DJ. We learned that you have also worked in the financial industry. In the career transition, what initially got you interested in skiing?
Alexander: When I was a DJ, I was very fortunate to be able to play music all over the world, and I have performed in more than thirty countries on five continents. Friends I meet during this time will always introduce me to strange but really interesting things, and skiing is one of them.
On Christmas Day 2015, I was invited to work as a DJ at a skiing event, which gave me a close experience of skiing. That's when I decided to study the sport, at least to reach my friend's ski level in a few years. After this goal was achieved, I was thinking about the possibility of participating in the Winter Olympics.
In 2018, I went to see the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and found that the Jamaican team had only three athletes, and not a single skier. So I also wanted to see if my crazy Olympic dreams worked. Despite the many hardships along the way, hopefully the story of my dream come true in a very limited amount of time will inspire more Jamaicans to start acting early and even tell others around the world who are less familiar with skiing that is a sport you can both have fun and succeed in.
Benjamin Alexander is training on skiing. Courtesy of respondents
Beijing News: What difficulties and challenges did you encounter during your ski training?
Alexander: At the beginning of the preparation training, I thought I would have had full training and competition time. But because of COVID-19, I didn't get a chance to race for 17 of the 24 months. In this constantly passing time, I have not been able to make any progress. I have asked myself many times: Am I crazy? Will this really happen? Is it a waste of time and money?
I was able to make up my mind and keep moving forward, mainly because I was open to a lot of people about my goals. Whenever I try to do something difficult, I always make it public as a way to motivate myself to be responsible for the goal. This method is very effective and can be used to force yourself to persevere.
Beijing News: In January 2022, less than a month before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, you finally qualified for the alpine skiing event at the Beijing Winter Olympics after finishing seventh at the first Cape Verde National Ski Championships in Liechtenstein. Do you remember the moment you confirmed your eligibility for the Winter Olympics? Alexander: The moment I confirmed my eligibility for the Winter Olympics, I was relieved that I really put too much effort into it.
The great thing about the Winter Olympics is that it is held every four years, and this is the most regrettable part of the Winter Olympics. Even if you miss a week, you have to wait another four years. I don't know if I'm willing to work on it for another four years and compete with these athletes who are much younger than me.
Beijing News: How would you describe your trip to the Beijing Winter Olympics? Alexander: I think it was an "extraordinary" trip to the Winter Olympics. Almost all of my competitors started skiing from the age of 2, and I only started learning to ski when I was 32. Most athletes have 10 years of competition training experience, and I only have 2 years, or 2 years of covid-19, and I may have only received 6 to 9 months of formal training.
Even though there have been many moments when I wanted to give up, I persevered. I've been skiing for 450 days in the last two years, and these efforts have made my dream come true.
I became the first alpine skier in Jamaican history to participate in the Winter Olympics, which feels like nothing short of anything. I hope that from now on, Jamaica will always have alpine skiers participating in the Winter Olympics.
Spending six years as a Winter Olympics athlete, I hope to help the next generation of Jamaican athletes succeed
Beijing News: You were born in the UK, why did you choose to represent Jamaica at the Beijing Winter Olympics this time?
Alexander: My father was born in Jamaica and moved to England as a child. Jamaica is a powerhouse at the Summer Olympics, with world-famous Bolt and other amazing female athletes.
At the Winter Olympics, Jamaica also has a bright spot. There's a film, Cool Runnings, based on the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, about the Jamaican snow team's first stand on the winter Olympics. Even though they didn't get a medal, it was also remarkable.
Friends who learn about my Jamaican ancestry will always joke that I should participate in the Winter Olympics snowmobile program. When participation in the Winter Olympics was really on the agenda, Jamaica was the only country I was considering wanting to represent, and there was no other alternative.
Beijing News: How did the Jamaican people react to you becoming the first skier in Jamaican history to participate in the Winter Olympics? Alexander: Two years ago, I went to Jamaica for 4 months. Although I had not yet qualified for the Winter Olympics at that time, the people of Jamaica were already very excited and proud of it.
I'll be back in Jamaica in two weeks' time and I'm looking forward to being there as a Winter Olympic player, and they're going to be ecstatic and proud.
Benjamin Alexander wears a dress with the jamaican flag motif. Courtesy of respondents
Beijing News: By participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics, what signals do you want to send to Jamaica or the whole world?
Alexander: If I can start at the age of 32 and spend 6 years as a Winter Olympic player, then with enough determination and perseverance, anything is possible. In life, everything is always difficult at the beginning, and you have to fall many times to know how to stand up and eventually learn how to do it correctly.
I would also like to tell you that although Jamaicans do not have any winter facilities, it is possible for Jamaicans to succeed in winter projects. Hopefully the next generation of Jamaicans will follow in my footsteps and compete in alpine skiing and see how well we can do, and I'm very much looking forward to that."
Beijing News: Four years later, will we see you on the field of the Italian Winter Olympics? What are your future career plans?
Alexander: I'm definitely going to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, but I'm not going to be in the race. At that time, I should no longer wear a race suit, but a formal suit. I hope to be there as a mentor and even try to become president of the Jamaica Ski Federation to help the next generation of Jamaicans succeed.
At least for the next two or even three Winter Olympics, I hope to work with the Jamaica Ski Federation to make Jamaican athletes successful. Now my main work is focused on identifying these athletes and helping them compete.
Beijing News reporter Luan Ruoxi
Edited by Chen Jing, proofread by Wu Xingfa