- Robel Teklemariam
Robel Teklemariam (born
1974 ) is aski er who representedEthiopia at the2006 Winter Olympics . He was the first athlete to represent Ethiopia in any event at the Winter Olympics.Although he has lived in the
United States since the age of 9, he has founded and heads theEthiopian National Skiing Federation , and still speaks fluent Amharic.He has said that without the financial help of Ethiopians abroad, he would not have made it to February's games in Italy. He also admitted that he had no chance of winning medals in either event he has entered in, Alpine and Cross country skiing. "I'm a realist. My goals are for further down the road. I want this Olympics to open my eyes and hopefully the eyes of other Ethiopians."
External links
* [http://www.ensf.org/index.htm Ethiopian National Skiing Federation home]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4695166.stm BBC: Ethiopia first at Winter Olympics]
* [http://www.ethiomedia.com/courier/robel_at_turin.html Ethiomedia: Ethiopia's Robel with a cause at Turin Olympics]
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