December 6, 2005
Photo of the year
Thanks again to Nazret.com for the link to this incredible story from The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. If they haven't already got one, the Ethiopian National Ski Federation needs to form a fan club or a supporters' association. I would join. They could make milllions on the merchandising alone.
For Ethiopian, the ski's the limitAs a boy growing up in Ethiopia, Robel Teklemariam was always drawn to the mountains. So it was only natural that when he moved to Lake Placid, N.Y., at age 12 he fell in love with skiing.
Now, Teklemariam is poised to become the first Ethiopian ski racer to ever compete in the Olympics.
"I have a shot. The people I know say that I have a shot," Teklemariam, 31, said by phone Sunday after a race in Colorado that put him slightly closer to qualifying for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, beginning Feb. 10.
Teklemariam, who has family in Madison and spent last summer working at Fontana Sports Specialties, started planing his Olympic bid three years ago.
It was a complicated effort that included his founding of the Ethiopian National Ski Federation as well as the Ethiopian Ski Team, which so far is an exclusive club of one.
Posted by aheavens at December 6, 2005 6:26 AM