LONDON: Saudi Arabian alpine skier Fayik Abdi says his historic participation at the Beijing Winter Olympics has inspired him to “do something really special” at the 2026 Games in Italy.
Saudi Arabia’s first Winter Olympian finished 44th overall after his two grand slalom runs on Sunday.
The 24-year-old admitted he did not ski his best in “really brutal” conditions, but insisted he will do all he can to improve and be able to compete on the global stage.
“My biggest takeaway (from the Games) is I feel so inspired by the whole experience,” he told Arab News. “I met a lot of great people and they inspired me to work 100 times harder than I was working prior to this.
“I want to work my socks off for the next Olympics and compete in three disciplines — giant slalom, super-G and slalom — in the best-case scenario and be able to finish in a really good spot. I really believe I can do something special at the next Olympics.”
Abdi also hopes the Kingdom can build on his astounding achievement and have more than one athlete at Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in four years’ time.
As he revealed to Arab News earlier this month, he only started training for the Chinese showpiece last August following an invitation from the newly formed Saudi Winter Sports Federation in March 2021.
Two of Abdi’s teammates, fellow skiers Rakan Alireza and Salman Al-Houwaish, agonizingly missed out on selection for Beijing 2022 despite earning enough qualification points.
“I want it to be more than just me next time,” said Abdi, who started skiing in Lebanon aged four after being taught by his mother. “I want us to have a team and to push one another and work really hard. We can do it as we have the resources.
“We just need the fire inside. If you have the fire inside and you want to achieve something and you believe and you have that work ethic, then nothing can stop you.”
Abdi, who returned to Saudi for a short break on Tuesday before traveling to Central Europe for some intensive training, added: “I have received messages from different people in Saudi. It means a lot because I am happy for Saudi and I hope this inspires Saudis to do what they love and (prove) that they can do anything and that nothing’s impossible.
“To be honest, I’ve had no celebrations as I’m not thinking like that. A celebration for me would be to get back to training as soon as possible and work hard.
“I’m so motivated to get better.”
Abdi’s two races were held in blizzard-like conditions, which were so severe that nearly half of the 91-strong field did not finish the course.
In a candid assessment of his performance, he said: “To be honest, I did not ski my best or nowhere near my best. The conditions were really challenging; the surface was really slick and hard.
“I spoke to other racers, some of the best in the world, and they said it was one of the hardest — if not the hardest — races they’d ever raced in. It was really brutal.
“I felt that hindered me from skiing even close to my best. I am happy that I finished both my runs because I’ve never seen a giant slalom race with almost half the race not finishing. That’s crazy and goes to show how hard it was.
“I feel like what I could have done better was being more confident and just going for it more. I feel like maybe I was too timid and I think that’s because I realized how difficult the conditions were and I wanted to keep on my feet and make it to the finish line.”
Abdi, who was born in San Diego, California, to two Saudi parents, said he was surprisingly “super, super calm” before his Olympic debut.
“I was expecting to be a lot more nervous, but I just focused on breathing and took it one step at a time and didn’t over-think it. I think I handled the nerves really well considering the occasion.”
What were his emotions afterwards?
“To be honest, I didn’t really feel much until I got back to my room after the race. I’m not the type to show emotion in public, so I just sat in my room and lay on the floor and relaxed for a bit because it was a long day and the second run got delayed. I was just really happy and glad that we were able to achieve our goal of making it to the Olympics.
“It’s an insane experience,” Abdi said, admitting that he had not seen much of Beijing beyond the ‘bubble’ of the Olympic village. “It’s just such a welcoming and together feeling. You feel like everyone is there for each other.
“It’s really cool to see people from all over the world coming to one village to compete in a healthy manner, doing what they love. I’m really inspired by the Olympics.
“I’ve obviously watched it on TV, but now being an Olympian and experiencing the Olympics, it’s really life-changing and I learnt so much. I’m so humbled and so grateful for this.
“I was lucky enough to meet Marco Odermatt, who won the (giant slalom) gold, and we hung out on the evening of the race, him and his coaches, and one of his friends. It was an amazing experience just to hang out with him.
“He was really humble and really nice and passed his medal around. We wore the medal and took pictures.”