A South African skier has qualified for next year’s Winter Olympics.
Matt Smith, originally from Cape Town but now living in Norway, has qualified for the 2026 Games, set to be held in northern Italy, as a cross-country skier.
Smith, who only took up the sport two years ago has been dubbed the “Snowbok”.
Smith said that participating in the Olympics was the “Holy Grail” for a hobby sportsman such as himself.
Smith qualified for the Olympics when he finished in 38th place in the Nordic Ski Championships in Trondheim in February. This gave him enough ranking points from the sport’s governing body to qualify for the Games.
According to Smith there are four other South Africans who compete in various disciplines who could go to the Olympics. If they all qualify it will be South Africa’s biggest-ever team at a Winter Olympics.
This will be South Africa’s eighth appearance at the Winter Olympics, with the last time being in 2018.
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