Laurence Thoms (born March 26, 1980) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

who was born in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

. He represented Fiji at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, and attracted media attention as a competitor from a tropical nation at the Winter Olympics. Thoms was Fiji's flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony, being his country's representative, and was the first

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

to qualify through FIS regulations for the

Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...

He competed in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events. He failed to complete his first run in the Slalom event after 'clipping' a gate, but completed the Giant Slalom and finished fifty-fifth with a time of 2:41.98. 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". One newspaper described Thoms' participation as exemplifying "the true spirit of the Games". Before taking part in the Olympics, Thoms had worked as a white water rafting guide and ski instructor in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. His participation in the Olympics was funded by a retired

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

businessman, Toni Hauswirth, living in Fiji, who had founded the Fiji Alpine Ski Association. Hauswirth had taken an advertisement in a Fijian newspaper in 1999 with an offer of all-expenses paid trip to the Olympics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoms, Laurence 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Suva Fijian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Fiji Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics