Here, the countries whose Olympic hopes rest on a single athlete.
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One is the loneliest number
- February 21, 2010 5:23 PM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
By Gillian Grace, National Post
Here, the countries whose Olympic hopes rest on one sole athlete. Word of caution -- this info was taken from the Olympic site, which warns, in true, IOC, neither-confirm-nor-deny bureaucrat fashion, that "The athletes listed have not been confirmed, nor is the list inclusive of all participants. More athlete profiles may be added or removed at any time."
In other words, some of these lonely guys and gals may have unbeknownst-to-the-olympics buddies.
Albania: Erjon Tola, alpine skier.
Notable stat: Recorded a career best 12th-place finish International Ski Federation in a national junior race in 2006.
Algeria: Meidhi-Selim Khelifi, cross-country skier.
Notable stat: Finished 84th in Vancouver's 15-km event.
Bermuda: Murphy Tucker, cross-country skier.
Notable stat: Finished 88th in Vancouver's 15-km event.
Cayman Islands: Dow Travers, alpine skier.
Notable stat: first athlete from the Cayman Islands at the Winter Olympics. Nicknamed "the Ginga Ninja."
Colombia: Cynthia Denzler, alpine skier.
Notable stat: the first Colombian athlete to enter the winter games.
Ethiopia: Robel Zemichael Teklemariam, cross-country skier.
Notable stat: finished 93rd in Vancouver's 15-km event.
Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, alpine skier.
Notable stat: Nicknamed "the Snow Leopard," he's the first Ghanaian to compete in the Winter Olympics.
Kenya: Philip Boit, cross-country skier.
Notable stat: a one-time runner, he learned skiing in Finland, and became Kenya's first Winter Games athlete in Nagano.
Mexico: Hubertus von Hohenlohe, alpine skier.
Notable stat: the Games' oldest athlete at 51, and probably one of the most interesting athletes too.
Montenegro: Bojan Kosic, alpine skier.
Notable stat: Gets a scholarship from the IOC of US$1,500, plus US$5,000 for travel expenses.
Morocco: Samir Azzimani, alpine skier.
Notable stat: Grew up in France, and is bringing eight kids from Woippy, France with him to Vancouver.
Nepal: Dachhiri Sherpa, cross-country skier.
Notable stats: 40 years old, Wikipedia says he's "one of two Nepalese athletes" at the Winter Games, which is news to the Olympic sites, which lists just one. Also a marathon runner.
Portugal: Danny Silva, cross-country skier.
Notable stat: born in 1973 in New Jersey, he's Portugal's first competitor in cross-country skiing. Finished 95th (last) in the men's 15 km.
Senegal: Leyti Seck, alpine skier.
Notable stat: Is also a citizen of Austria; had his best finish (fifth) in slalom in 2005 in Germany.
Tajikistan: Andrey Drygin, alpine skiing.
Notable stat: These will likely be Drygin's last Olympics.
Chinese Taipei: Chih-Hung Ma, luge.
Notable stat: was the youngest luge competitor in Turin.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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