KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA — Luke Steyn knew one day he would represent Zimbabwe at the Winter Olympics. That day finally came on Wednesday as he became the southern African nation’s first athlete at the Winter Games.
“It was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to compete for Zimbabwe,” said 20-year-old Steyn, who finished 57th in the men’s giant slalom — 21,26secs behind gold medallist Ted Ligety.
Steyn, pronounced “stain”, was born in the Zimbabwean capital Harare and moved to Switzerland when he was two years old.
After living there a year he and his family moved onto France before eventually landing in London in 2000.
The family travelled a lot to ski resorts in France and Switzerland where Steyn was infected with the skiing bug.
He even studied for a time at a university in Colorado.
“I wanted to be able to study and ski at the same time. Universities in England are not that good at balancing studying and winter sport because you have to travel a lot. It made sense to go to America,” Steyn said.
Steyn‘s Olympic experience also included walking at the opening ceremony and carrying the green, yellow, red, black and white flag of his homeland.
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“It feels great to be able to fly the flag. It hasn‘t been flown before. It‘s really exciting,” said Steyn, who will also be competing in the men’s slalom.
“The people in Zimbabwe are not used to winter sports. But it matters to them how people from Zimbabwe are competing on the world stage. They’re really proud of me. So that’s an achievement for me.”
Steyn believes his experience in Russia could open the door for more Zimbabweans to compete in the Winter Games. — Europeonline
