Benjamin ALEXANDER

Jamaica
Alpine Skiing
8 May 1983
38
Male
LONDON
 
Great Britain
JACKSON, WY
 
United States of America

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
ALP Alpine Skiing Men's Giant Slalom 46

Schedule

Start Time Location Event Status
Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre - Technical
Men's Giant Slalom Run 1
Finished
Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre - Technical
Men's Giant Slalom Run 2
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

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Benji

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Benjamin Alexander McBean

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Backgammon.

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Athlete

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Bachelors of Engineering - University College London (GBR). (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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Father, Keith. Mother, Ann.

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English, French, German

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2020 FIS event in Big Sky Resort (Giant slalom - 93rd)

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2020

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In 2015, at the age of 32, he was invited to work as a disc jockey (his profession at the time) for a client who was doing a Christmas holiday helicopter skiing trip in Canada. He nearly declined the opportunity. “Why would I go to a ski lodge if I couldn’t ski?” While he had no background in skiing, he was taken up the mountain by helicopter and immediately fell in love with the snow and the environment. A few months later, he went to Whistler, BC (CAN) to learn to ski himself. His passion for the Olympics came after he attended the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang as a spectator. Having seen the movie Cool Runnings, he considered the possibility of becoming Jamaica's first Alpine skier in the Olympics.

In 2019, he met a former Europa Cup level ski racer, Gordon Gray (USA), who became his first coach. He first moved to Revelstoke, BC (CAN) for the 2019/20 season, skiing nearly every day. He then headed to Jackson, WY (USA) as a base for the 2020/21 season and began planning his competitive route to qualify for the Olympics. In just 22 months, he lowered his FIS race points from over 600 to under the required 160 point minimum. During the lead-up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, he competed in races across Europe at the FIS and national championship level. (olympics.com, 2 Dec 2021; Athlete, 3 Mar 2021; time.com, 10 Dec 2021)

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He was motivated by the feeling of the mountain environment along with the speed and exhilaration of the sport. (Athlete, 3 Mar 2021)

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His ambition is to use his platform to inspire the next generation in skiing. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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Over the past two years he has sought out myriad different coaches, learning ski racing from scratch. He maintained a strong training regime, skiing a large volume of days on snow. In his qualifying period, he was strategic in finding the best races possible to both test his skills and advance his quest to achieve the minimum qualifying standard. (Athlete, 3 Mar 2021; Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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Scoring a series of four career-best results at FIS races in Liechtenstein in the final days of qualifying in January 2022 to become the first Jamaican Alpine skier to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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Footballer Thiery Henry (FRA), who was a legendary striker for Arsenal and went on to win the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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Alpine skier Bode Miller (USA), six-time Olympic and five-time World Championship medallist. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

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“My gold medal is walking in the Opening Ceremonies.” (time.com, 10 Dec 2021)

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Selected as an Opening Ceremony flagbearer for Jamaica at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

General Interest

COOL RUNNINGS
He was born in England, GBR, to a working-class family. His father, Keith, had Jamaican roots. He had followed the Cool Runnings movie storyline of the Jamaican bobsleigh team. Once he was on his own quest for the Olympics, he sought frequent counsel from famed Jamaican bobsleigh driver now retired, Dudley Stokes. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2022)

DJ CAREER
As a young boy, he had developed a keen interest in music while growing up in London. He became a disc jockey, making a living while attending college. But at a certain point, the violence he encountered became too much and he stepped aside. Later, he returned to the profession, becoming a noted DJ working around the globe. (time.com, 10 Dec 2021; Athlete, 3 Mar 2021)

PATHWAY TO JAMAICA
When planning his pathway to ski for Jamaica, he discovered that a Jamaican ski federation had been established years earlier by the late Richard Salm, who proved helpful to him in establishing himself as a Jamaican athlete. Salm, who was also British-born with a Jamaican wife, had continued to follow Alexander's progress until he was tragically killed in an automobile accident in September 2021.

He will become the first Alpine skier for Jamaica, but the second skier following freestyle ski cross athlete Errol Kerr, who competed for Jamaica at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (time.com, 10 Dec 2021)

BLACK SKIER
As a black skier, he has generated enthusiasm from others including the National Brotherhood of Skiers in the USA. “I’m hoping that what he does will open up more people’s hearts to be more inclusive in snow sports,” said president of the organisation, Henri Rivers. Rivers had worked closely with Errol Kerr, who was a freestyle skier for Jamaica at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (time.com, 10 Dec 2021)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse
Legend
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Gold Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
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