Wellingborough Winter Olympics ski hero's mum and dad 'so proud'

Wellingborough' s ground-breaking Winter Olympics skiing hero is set to jet out to Beijing for the opening ceremony and to compete in the winter games for Jamaica.

Benjamin Alexander, a former international financier and one-time DJ, is set to represent the Caribbean nation of his father's birth in giant slalom event.

Incredibly, the 38-year-old only started mountain skiing six years ago and after a trip to the 2018 Winter Olympics he decided to try and qualify for 2022 event.

But his parents Keith and Ann are not surprised that their son has succeeded and will be following his appearance on TV.

Mum Ann, 66, said: "Ever since he was small he's been like this. We knew he would do it. He's capable of doing almost anything. He is the only one in our family who has done anything like this but this one is amazing - we are just so proud.

"When he was at junior school he would come first at sports all the time. He got bored so one year he ran the race running backwards but he came third anyway."

Dad Keith said: "It's just him - he's like a steam train. When he was a DJ, he didn't just do it here, he did it all over the world. He's a real jet-setter. He has got his own natural e-numbers.

"We will be watching him on the TV. I'm proud that he is representing Jamaica."

Benjamin hopes to be given the honour of being Jamaica's flag bearer at the opening ceremony on Friday, February 4, at the Beijing National Stadium.

He will be flying out to join his team-mates, all members of Jamaica's bobsleigh team who will race in the four-man, two-man and women’s monobob.

And Benjamin is under no illusion about his chances of winning a medal.

He said: "Preparations are going very well. I'm flying out via Zurich into a controlled airport. I'm looking forward to the opening ceremony. There's no way I'm going to win unless everyone crashes or several countries boycott the games."

Since the announcement of Benjamin's selection he has given 86 interviews in ten days, appearing on TV shows across the world including Good Morning Britain and Jamaica's CMV TV.

A documentary about Benjamin's skiing exploits will be aired at the end of the year but he has also been bombarded by questions of a possible movie of his incredible story - and he answers the question he has already been asked 86 times with a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye - 'Who would you like to play you in the film of your life?'.

He said: "Everyone asks that. Let's say, Sacha Baron-Cohen."

Benjamin remembered the last time he was in the Evening Telegraph was when he was crowned the National Nintendo 64 champion in about 1998, when he was a schoolboy at All Saints Primary School.

After the Olympics, he is planning on launching a career as a motivational speaker and hopes to return to talk to pupils who are currently his former schools.

In the meantime Ann and Keith will be staying up to watch Benjamin's race on February, 13, from the Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field starting at 2.15am.

Mum Ann added: "It will be a proud moment. We will toast him."