Johannesburg – South Africa will have a lonely participant at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang from February 9 to 25 after Connor Wilson was selected to fly the flag in South Korea.
The 21-year-old Wilson will compete in the Alpine Skiing slalom/giant slalom event thanks to his superior rankings in both events.
The Johannesburg-based athlete was ranked 54th in the giant slalom and 71st in the slalom event at the end of last year.
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said two South African athletes qualified for the one available Alpine Skiing slot at these Winter Olympics.
“Sascoc selected Wilson on the basis of his world ranking which was superior to his other counterpart and had the potential to do best for the country,” Sascoc said in a statement.
While there was disappointment for Eastern Cape skier Sive Speelman missing out on participation for the second consecutive Games, he will make the trip to South Korea as the team’s technical official.
“Coming from a dry country like South Africa with extremely limited winter sports conditions, our teams to winter sports have traditionally always been small,” said Sascoc president Gideon Sam. “But, as we do in all our myriad sports, snow sports are still an important part of the sporting family.
“We wish Connor all the best and I’m also sure that Sive Speelman is going to gain a wealth of experience during his time in South Korea.”