Laurence Thoms Explained

Laurence Thoms
Birth Name:Laurence Thoms
Birth Date:26 March 1980
Birth Place:Suva, Dominion of Fiji
Height:5'10" (176cm)
Country:Fiji
Sport:Alpine skiing

Laurence Thoms (born March 26, 1980) is a Fijian alpine skier who was born in Suva.[1] He represented Fiji at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and attracted media attention as a competitor from a tropical nation at the Winter Olympics.[2]

Thoms was Fiji's flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony, being his country's representative,[3] and was the first Pacific Islander to qualify through FIS regulations for the Winter Games[2] [4] [5] He competed in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events.[4] He failed to complete his first run in the Slalom event after 'clipping' a gate,[6] [7] but completed the Giant Slalom and finished fifty-fifth with a time of 2:41.98.[8] Spectators reportedly cheered as they admired the 'Fiji's ice man' competitive speed in the events, and "went crazy when he crossed the finish line".[9]

One newspaper described Thoms' participation as exemplifying "the true spirit of the Games".[9]

Before taking part in the Olympics, Thoms had worked as a white water rafting guide and ski instructor in New Zealand.[10] His participation in the Olympics was funded by a retired Swiss businessman, Toni Hauswirth, living in Fiji, who had founded the Fiji Alpine Ski Association.[3] Hauswirth had taken an advertisement in a Fijian newspaper in 1999 with an offer of all-expenses paid trip to the Olympics.[11] [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Laurence Thoms - Ski alpin . L'Équipe . 2023-06-26 . fr . 2023-06-29.
  2. Web site: Beach boy takes to the slopes . BBC SPORT . 2002-02-15 . 2023-06-29.
  3. News: Eleven on their own in Games . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . 2002-02-13 . 2023-06-29.
  4. Web site: Lee . Dana . Flames and Flickers: Alcohol fuels trip to Utah . ESPN.com . 2002-02-21 . 2023-06-29.
  5. Web site: Fiji's lone 2002 Olympian lured by a newspaper ad. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20041204233353/http://www.deseretnews.com/oly/view/0,3949,70000090,00.html. 2004-12-04. Ray Grass. .
  6. Web site: Alping Skiing results - Men's Slalom. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030210064903/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2002/results/alpine_skiing/slalom/mens/index.html. 2003-02-10.
  7. Web site: Slaw Says: Olympics produce year's new heroes. https://archive.today/20110708103351/http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2002/02/25/Sports/Slaw-Saysolympics.Produce.Years.New.Heroes-1298814.shtml. 2011-07-08.
  8. Web site: Results -- Thursday, Feb 21. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030102012654/http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/results/byDay?date=20020221. 2003-01-02.
  9. Web site: Games run into scandal at end. https://archive.today/20110718032038/http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2002/02/22/Sports/Games.Run.Into.Scandal.At.End-443464.shtml. 2011-07-18. dead.
  10. Web site: In Praise of the Lone Olympians. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20020221223141/http://www.time.com/time/olympics2002/article/0,8599,212042,00.html. 2002-02-21.
  11. https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,212042,00.html. Amanda. Bower. Time . February 21, 2002. content.time.com.
  12. Web site: Skier is Fiji's 1st Winter Olympian. 20 February 2002.

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