(1980-03-26) March 26, 1980 (age 44) Suva, Dominion of Fiji
Height
5 ft 10 in (176cm)
Sport
Country
Fiji
Sport
Alpine skiing
Laurence Thoms (born March 26, 1980) is a Fijian alpine skier who was born in Suva.[1] He represented Fiji at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and attracted media attention as a competitor from a tropical nation at the Winter Olympics.[2]
Thoms was Fiji's flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony, being his country's representative,[3] and was the first Pacific Islander to qualify through FIS regulations for the Winter Games[2][4][5] He competed in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events.[4] He failed to complete his first run in the Slalom event after 'clipping' a gate,[6][7] but completed the Giant Slalom and finished fifty-fifth with a time of 2:41.98.[8] Spectators reportedly cheered as they admired the 'Fiji's ice man' competitive speed in the events, and "went crazy when he crossed the finish line".[9]
One newspaper described Thoms' participation as exemplifying "the true spirit of the Games".[9]
Before taking part in the Olympics, Thoms had worked as a white water rafting guide and ski instructor in New Zealand.[10] His participation in the Olympics was funded by a retired Swiss businessman, Toni Hauswirth, living in Fiji, who had founded the Fiji Alpine Ski Association.[3] Hauswirth had taken an advertisement in a Fijian newspaper in 1999 with an offer of all-expenses paid trip to the Olympics.[11][12]
^"Laurence Thoms - Ski alpin". L'Équipe (in French). 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^ ab"Beach boy takes to the slopes". BBC SPORT. 2002-02-15. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^ ab"Eleven on their own in Games". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2002-02-13. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^ abLee, Dana (2002-02-21). "Flames and Flickers: Alcohol fuels trip to Utah". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
^Ray Grass. "Fiji's lone 2002 Olympian lured by a newspaper ad". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2004-12-04.
^"Alping Skiing results - Men's Slalom". Archived from the original on 2003-02-10.
^"Slaw Says: Olympics produce year's new heroes". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
^"Results -- Thursday, Feb 21". Archived from the original on 2003-01-02.
^ ab"Games run into scandal at end". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18.
^"In Praise of the Lone Olympians". Archived from the original on 2002-02-21.
^Bower, Amanda (February 21, 2002). Time https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,212042,00.html – via content.time.com. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"Skier is Fiji's 1st Winter Olympian". 20 February 2002.
LaurenceThoms (born March 26, 1980) is a Fijian alpine skier who was born in Suva. He represented Fiji at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City,...
Thoms (1918–2005), Australian rules footballer Kevin Thoms (born 1979), American actor LaurenceThoms (born 1980), Fijian alpine skier Lothar Thoms (1956–2017)...
Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier LaurenceThoms. He competed in both the slalom, where he failed to complete his first...
Olympians were Rusiate Rogoyawa in cross-country skiing (1988, 1994) and LaurenceThoms in alpine skiing (2002), both participating by invite. Fiji has had...
Laurence Hirsch Silberman (October 12, 1935 – October 2, 2022) was an American jurist and diplomat who served as a United States circuit judge of the United...
Laurence Ambrose Waldron PC (14 November 1858 – 27 December 1923) was an Irish businessman and politician. Waldron was the son of Laurence Waldron and...
1971 poet, novelist, memoirist Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid Margaret Laurence 1926 1987 novelist The Stone Angel, The Diviners Agnes C. Laut 1871 1936...
12 December 2016. Petski, Denise (12 April 2017). "'UnReal' Casts Tracie Thoms; Erik Madsen Joins 'Vikings'". NRK (17 April 2017). "Erik Madsen i ny høvdingrolle...
August 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Barrett, Laurence I. (June 22, 1987). "Campaign Portrait, Joe Biden: Orator for the Next...
Shaw and Laurence (Vol 3) 1981, pp. 805–925. Shaw and Laurence (Vol 2) 1981, p. 898. Shaw and Laurence (Vol 2) 1981, p. 429. Shaw and Laurence (Vol 2)...
Antal (director); Sam Raimi (screenplay); Columbus Short, Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, Skeet Ulrich, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia, Amaury...
William Thoms as older, oral cultural traditions of the rural populace. In his 1846 published call for help in documenting antiquities, Thoms was echoing...
adjunct professor teaching modern, ballet, and dance history. Rose Anne Thom taught dance history, Labanotation and pedagogy for both undergraduate and...
albums Elling is accompanied by a piano trio led by his musical partner Laurence Hobgood, bassist Rob Amster and with Frank Parker Jr. a new drummer again...
Global Information