Benjamin Alexander (skier)

Last updated

Benjamin Alexander
Born (1983-05-08) 8 May 1983 (age 41)
Wellingborough, England
Education University College London
Occupation(s)Olympic athlete, DJ

Benjamin Alexander (born 8 May 1983) is a British former disc jockey and the first alpine skier to represent Jamaica in the Olympics.

Contents

Early life

Benjamin Alexander was born in Wellingborough, England to a Jamaican father, a bus driver, [1] and British mother in 1983. [2] Having won a government scholarship, he was educated at Wellingborough School, a private school in Northamptonshire. [3] [4] At the age of 17, Alexander began DJing. [5] He began studying physics at Imperial College, London before transferring to University College London to study electrical engineering , [6] [4] graduating in 2006.[ citation needed ] After university he worked in wealth management in Hong Kong. [4]

DJ career

In 2010, Alexander quit finance to pursue DJing professionally. He spent a decade touring in 30 different countries [7] —eventually performing at Burning Man starting in 2011. [8] By 2015, he was hosting a radio show as well as a weekly party in Ibiza, Spain while co-founding the award-winning music festival, Further Future. [9] Alexander retired from DJing in 2018 but kept his board seat with the charity Robot Heart, a well-known Burning Man camp. [10]

Skiing career

In 2016, Alexander was invited to DJ a ski trip in Whistler, British Columbia, where he had his first mountain lesson. [5] Alexander began pursuing skiing professionally at the end of 2019 after attending the 2018 Winter Olympics as a spectator. [9] He chose to represent Jamaica in international skiing as he acquired Jamaican nationality through his father. [6]

Alexander's first official race was on 9 January 2020, and he qualified for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on 13 January 2022. [11] In preparation of the 2022 games, Alexander maintained weekly mentorship calls with Dudley Stokes, the former Jamaican Olympic bobsledder, since the beginning of 2020. [2]

Alexander raced the giant slalom event on 13 February 2022, finishing in 46th place (last). [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Maier</span> Austrian alpine skier (born 1972)

Hermann Maier is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, and three World Championship titles. His 54 World Cup race victories – 24 super-G, 15 downhills, 14 giant slaloms, and 1 combined – rank third on the men's all-time list behind Ingemar Stenmark's 86 victories and Marcel Hirscher's 67 victories. Until 2023 he held the record for the most points in one season by a male alpine skier, with 2000 points from the 2000 season. From 2000–2013 he also held the title of most points in one season by any alpine skier, until Tina Maze scored 2414 points in the 2013 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Raich</span> Austrian alpine skier

Benjamin Raich is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. With 14 medals won at Winter Olympics and World Championships, 36 World Cup race victories, one first place and five second places in the World Cup overall ranking, three victories of the slalom World Cup, three victories of the combined World Cup, two victories of the giant slalom World Cup and the highest score of career World Cup points, he is considered among the best alpine racers in World Cup history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Ligety</span> American alpine skier (born 1984)

Theodore Sharp Ligety is a retired American alpine ski racer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofounded Shred Optics. Ligety won the combined event at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the giant slalom race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-time World Cup champion in giant slalom. Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in 2013 in Schladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in the super-G and a third gold medal in the super combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Compagnoni</span> Italian alpine skier (born 1970)

Deborah Compagnoni is an Italian former Alpine skier who won three gold medals at the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics.

Franck Piccard is a French former Alpine skier. A native of Les Saisies, Piccard won a total of four Alpine Skiing World Cup races. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary he won a gold medal in the Super-G competition and a bronze medal in the downhill. At the 1992 Olympics in Albertville he won a silver medal in the downhill. He also could achieve a bronze-medal in the Super-G-Race at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Noël Augert</span> French alpine skier

Jean-Noël Augert is a French former alpine skier. He competed at the 1972 Olympics and finished in fifth place in the slalom and giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manfred Mölgg</span> Italian alpine skier

Manfred Mölgg is an Italian former World Cup alpine ski racer. He specialized in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Hirscher</span> Austrian alpine skier

Marcel Hirscher is an Austrian-Dutch former World Cup alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined and occasionally in super G. Winner of a record eight consecutive World Cup titles, Hirscher has also won 11 medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, seven of them gold, a silver medal in slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and two gold medals in the combined and giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Due to his record number of overall titles and many years of extreme dominance of both slalom and giant slalom, he is considered by many, including his former rivals Henrik Kristoffersen, Kjetil Jansrud and Alexis Pinturault, to be the best alpine skier in history. He won a total of 67 World Cup races, ranking second on the male all-time list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federica Brignone</span> Italian alpine skier (born 1990)

Federica Brignone is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer. She competes in all alpine disciplines, with a focus on giant slalom and super-G. Brignone won the World Cup overall title in 2020, becoming the first Italian female to achieve this feat. She is also an Olympic and World Championship medalist. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she won a silver medal in the giant slalom and a bronze in the combined.

Aanchal Thakur is an Indian female alpine skier. She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In Innsbruck, Thakur took part in the Alpine skiing - girl's slalom and girl's giant slalom events. Thakur became the first Indian skier to win a medal in an International Ski Federation event in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ester Ledecká</span> Czech snowboarder and skier (born 1995)

Ester Ledecká is a Czech snowboarder and alpine skier. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Ledecká won gold medals in the super-G in alpine skiing and in the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding, becoming the first person to not only compete in the Winter Olympics using two different types of equipment but to go further and win two gold medals and do so at the same Winter Olympics. She was the second woman to win an Olympic gold in two separate disciplines but the first to do so at the same Winter Olympics. She was the first Czech to win the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding at the FIS Snowboard World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathieu Faivre</span> French alpine skier (born 1992)

Mathieu Faivre is a French World Cup alpine ski racer, and specializes in giant slalom. He has competed for France in two Winter Olympics and six World Championships. In 2021, he won two gold medals for world titles in giant slalom and parallel giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Robinson</span> New Zealand skier

Alice Robinson is a New Zealand World Cup alpine ski racer. At age sixteen, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in giant slalom and slalom. She represented New Zealand in the giant slalom event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippines at the 2022 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Philippines competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. The country qualified one athlete in alpine skiing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India at the 2022 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

India competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. The country's participation in Beijing marked its eleventh appearance at the Winter Olympics since its debut in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Alpine Skiing World Cup – Women's slalom</span> Alpine ski discipline year standings

The women's slalom in the 2022 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup consisted of 9 events, including the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arif Khan (skier)</span> Indian skier

Arif Khan is an Indian alpine skier, who competes in the slalom. In 2011, he won two gold medals: in the slalom and giant slalom Alpine skiing at the South Asian Winter Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Alpine Skiing World Cup – Women's giant slalom</span> Alpine ski discipline year standings

The women's giant slalom World Cup 2021/2022 consisted of 9 events including the final. Overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin from the United States, who started out in the early lead in this discipline, contracted COVID-19 at the end of 2021 and missed the post-Christmas giant slalom, then Shiffrin lost the lead in this discipline to Sara Hector of Sweden in the first race in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Alpine Skiing World Cup – Men's giant slalom</span> Alpine ski discipline year standings

The men's giant slalom in the 2022 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup consisted of eight events including the final. At the halfway point of the season, Marco Odermatt of Switzerland had opened a commanding lead in the discipline by winning four of the races and finishing second in the other. The remainder of the season was held in March, after the 2022 Winter Olympics, but in the first post-Olympic event, Odermatt clinched the crystal globe for the season championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica at the 2022 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Jamaica competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Taylor, Jeremy (13 February 2022). "Benjamin Alexander: How I became Jamaica's first Olympic skier". The Times. London.
  2. 1 2 Randall, Cassidy. "How Benjamin Alexander May Become Jamaica's Olympic Ski Team". Time. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  3. ↑ MacInnes, Paul (14 January 2022). "Benjamin Alexander: the former DJ remixing the spirit of Cool Runnings". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Taylor, Jeremy (13 February 2022). "Benjamin Alexander: how I became Jamaica's first Olympic skier". The Times. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 Massie, Graeme (11 August 2021). "Former DJ channels 'Cool Runnings' as he targets Winter Olympic ski glory for Jamaica". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 Newman, Richard (19 October 2021). "Beijing 2022 - Benjamin Alexander on Jamaican Olympic ski dream: 'I'm ranked 3748th - exactly where I need to be'". Eurosport. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. ↑ OlympicTalk (16 February 2021). "Former DJ hopes to be Jamaica's first Olympic Alpine skier". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ↑ King, Ariel (18 January 2022). "Former Burning Man DJ to represent Jamaican ski team in Winter Olympics". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 Gunston, Jo. "From international DJ to Alpine skier – Benjamin Alexander's unique Olympic journey". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Andrews, Steve. "Meet Benjamin Alexander, Jamaica's First (and Only) Olympic Ski Racer". The Inertia. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Jamaican Benjamin Alexander beat odds to qualify for giant slalom". The Japan Times. 18 January 2022. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Men's giant slalom results" (PDF). FIS. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flag bearer for Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Beijing 2022
with
Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.