Laurence Thoms is a Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

an alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 who was born in Suva

Suva

Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

. He represented Fiji at the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City, and attracted media attention as a competitor from a tropical nation at the Winter Olympics

Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics

Although traditionally associated with cold weather nations, the Winter Olympics have also had participation from several tropical nations. The typical climate of these nations is not conducive to participation in winter sports, and no Winter Olympic medals have ever been won by a tropical nation...

.

Thoms was Fiji's flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony, being his country's only representative, and was the first Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

 to qualify for the Winter Games in his own right (rather than through the wild cards

Wild card (sports)

The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 process). He competed in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events

Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics consisted of ten events held near Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. The downhill, Super G, and combined events were held at Snowbasin, the giant slalom at Park City, and the slalom at Deer Valley...

. He failed to complete the Slalom, but completed the Giant Slalom and finished fifty-fifth with a time of 2:41.98. Spectators reportedly cheered and encouraged him, and "went crazy when he crossed the finish line".

One newspaper described Thoms' participation as exemplifying "the true spirit of the Games".

Before taking part in the Olympics, Thoms had worked as a ski instructor in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. His participation in the Olympics was funded by a retired Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

businessman living in Fiji, who had founded the Fiji Alpine Ski Association.