Laurence Thoms
Personal information
Birth nameLaurence Thoms
NationalityFijian
Born (1980-03-26) March 26, 1980
Suva, Dominion of Fiji
Height5 ft 10 in (176cm)
Sport
CountryFiji
SportAlpine 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]

References

  1. ↑ "Laurence Thoms - Ski alpin". L'Équipe (in French). 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  2. 1 2 "Beach boy takes to the slopes". BBC SPORT. 2002-02-15. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  3. 1 2 "Eleven on their own in Games". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2002-02-13. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  4. 1 2 Lee, Dana (2002-02-21). "Flames and Flickers: Alcohol fuels trip to Utah". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  5. ↑ Ray Grass. "Fiji's lone 2002 Olympian lured by a newspaper ad". Archived from the original on 2004-12-04.
  6. ↑ "Alping Skiing results - Men's Slalom". Archived from the original on 2003-02-10.
  7. ↑ "Slaw Says: Olympics produce year's new heroes". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
  8. ↑ "Results -- Thursday, Feb 21". Archived from the original on 2003-01-02.
  9. 1 2 "Games run into scandal at end". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18.
  10. ↑ "In Praise of the Lone Olympians". Archived from the original on 2002-02-21.
  11. ↑ Bower, Amanda (February 21, 2002). "Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews" – via content.time.com.
  12. ↑ "Skier is Fiji's 1st Winter Olympian". 20 February 2002.
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