Skiing outsiders make their mark as arrival of real snow causes setbacks

Real snow finally arrived at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and disrupted events on Sunday, leading to mixed fortunes for the Alpine skiiers who were breaking new ground for their countries in difficult conditions.

Saudi Arabia’s Fayik Abdi finished 44th, but Haiti’s Richardson Viano failed to finish. Benjamin Alexander, Jamaica’s first ever Alpine skiier, was slowest of those to complete the course, finishing more than a minute behind the gold medallist, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt.

The environmental impact of the artificial snow used by hosts China has been widely criticised, but with a blizzard affecting the north of the country on Sunday, at the Yanqing skiing venue it was the real thing that was the problem. The second run of the giant slalom event was delayed for over an hour waiting for conditions to improve. “You can’t see much, you don’t know where to put your feet, said the eventual bronze medal winner, Mathieu Faivre of France, after his first run.

Abdi and Viano represented countries making their first ever appearance at a Winter Games, but the medals inevitably went to more traditional skiing powerhouses. Odermatt finished with a combined time of 2:09:35, putting him 0.19 seconds ahead of Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec. The debutants were all vocal in hoping to encourage greater participation in winter sports in their respective nations.

Fayik Abdi had been fast-tracked by Saudi authorities into competing – he only took up skiing a year ago. He finished 44th, some 37 seconds off the pace of the leaders. After the race he said: “Our goal wasn’t just to finish − our goal was to ski as best as we could. I am happy I tried my best. It could have gone better for sure. The fact we finished is definitely a plus.

“I