Benjamin Alexander – Cool Runnings 2.0

The average annual temperature in Jamaica is almost 26 degrees. 33 years ago, Jamaica became a little bit of a winter sports country. A Jamaican team fell down the bobsleigh track for the first time at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. The Hollywood film "Cool Runnings" finally made the exotics on ice legendary. Benjamin Alexander (38) now wants to continue this story and be the first Jamaican skier to compete in the Winter Olympics next year in Beijing. And we can accompany and support him on his way there.

From Ibiza to Canada

Benjamin Alexander's father is from Jamaica and his mother is British. In the past ten years, the 1.97 meter tall Benji has mainly been touring around the world as a DJ. He had a residence and a radio show in Ibiza and up until almost five years ago he really had nothing to do with skiing. “In 2015, friends invited me to a heli-skiing lodge in Canada over Christmas. I had never seen so much snow before. That was incredible. I decided that I also wanted to learn to ski.” Two months later he was on skis for the first time.

Things got serious in 2018 when three things came together. Benji had had enough of DJing, he was a spectator at the Winter Olympics in South Korea and was shocked that only three Jamaican athletes were there, and that's when he really took off with skiing. He now knows the difference between slalom and super-G. Over the summer months he completed glacier training with the Schild ski racing team on the Kitzsteinhorn here in Austria. He became aware of Lenz socks through an American ski racer: "Like me, she struggles with cold toes and fingers," he reports. Benji wrote to us directly and we were blown away by his story. We accompany Benji all the way to Beijing and support him with everything that is worn directly on the body: underwear, socks, insoles, and the whole heated program.

The Olympic qualification deadline is January 16, 2022. Also on board for the trip is Dudley Stokes, original member of the 1988 Cool Runnings bobsled team. “He's my mentor. We talk on the phone every week,” says Benjamin Alexander.