William Flaherty: The inspirational story of Puerto Rico’s skiing star who followed in his brother’s Olympic footsteps

Have you heard the story of Puerto Rico’s skiing brothers? It’s a tale of “unbelievable tragedy, but also pride and hope”, according to their mother – an Olympic journey like no other. William Flaherty, 17, finished 40th in the men’s giant slalom at Beijing 2022 on Sunday, completing both of his runs with a combined time of 2:41.42 – some 32 seconds behind champion Marco Odermatt. Ad/> Flaherty was following in his brother’s footsteps, with Charles finishing 73rd at Pyeongchang 2018 when becoming Puerto Rico’s first Winter Olympian for two decades.

Beijing 2022'Winter sports are for everyone' — Alexander pushes for more diversity after historic slalom finish8 HOURS AGO «Hey dad, see? We made it!” William said after his runs on Sunday – the brothers lost their father between the two Olympics. “Today I made a dream of mine come true. I finished 2 heats in the Giant Slalom at the Olympic Games and finished in 40th place.

I can only hope to do it again in the Slalom But only time will tell.» /> The death of their father was another tough moment for the Flaherty family, who defied the odds in reaching the Olympics. 'Winter sports are for everyone' — Alexander pushes for more diversity after historic slalom finish 'Just holds on' — Odermatt grabs thrilling gold in giant slalom at Beijing 2022 ‘Fricking hell! That was hard’ – Jamaica’s first-ever Olympic skier completes GS run «Our life is like a series of jigsaw pieces, some moments of unbelievable tragedy, but also pride and hope,» their mother, Ann, told ESPN. Williams was three years old when he required a bone marrow transplant.