Aptly named Nepal cross-country skier Dachhiri Sherpa has no illusions about his third Olympics.
“I think there is a very big chance I will finish last,” he told Agence France-Presse. “But the placing is not important if I can teach young people in Nepal about the Olympic spirit. This spirit is in my heart.”
Sherpa, 44, is going to his third Winter Olympics. He was 94th out of 96 finishers and 92nd out of 95, respectively, in the 15km at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics, according to sports-reference.com.
“I have taken four months off work [as a bricklayer] and skied every single day since December to train for this event,” Sherpa told AFP, “but I’m not perfect.”
He lives and trains in France, according to the Himalayan Times, and has been a construction worker and ran marathons in the Himalayas, according to reports from past Olympics.
“I will go to Everest next year,’' he told the Telegraph at the 2006 Olympics.
Sherpa is the third Nepalese Winter Olympian, according to sports-reference. Jay Khadka skied cross-country in 2002, and a man named Tejbir Bura won an Olympic gold medal in Mixed Alpinism at the first Winter Games in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Bura’s story is told here.
These will be Sherpa’s final Games.
“I need to find the next young talent,” he said, according to AFP. “The problem is that most people in Nepal can’t watch international TV, so very few people will see the race. Plus, there is no place to ski in Nepal.”
