Haitian Snowboard Star Eclipses Expectations in Inspiring Olympics Victory
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — A man who lost his left leg after being trapped for eight hours in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti made his nation proud on Friday. Ralf Etienne became Haiti’s first ever Winter Paralympian when he competed in the giant slalom standing race at the Milan Cortina Games . “So, ‘Haiti has a skier.
’ That’s what my coach said when I came down. And that’s the most beautiful sentence I’ve heard in a long time,” Etienne said. Etienne finished only his first run, posting the worst time, more than 30 seconds behind the leader.
He was still proud of how he handled the tricky conditions at the difficult course in Cortina d’Ampezzo. “Because I went from the 2010 earthquake and rubble in Haiti, to now on the top of the world with the best skiers, with the very best skiers in the world, skiing, racing, and I’m competitive," he said. "I didn’t just participate as a fun guest.
No, my time was just as good as your time. ” He was buried during the magnitude 7. 0 earthquake that struck southern Haiti on Jan.
12, 2010. Haiti’s government put the death toll at more than 300,000, while a report commissioned by the U. S.