PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Besnik Sokoli didn’t let a lack of money, time to train or even the inability to qualify for the Winter Olympics keep him from coming to Pyeongchang.
The 36-year-old alpine skier and Kosovo War refugee who has lived in Brooklyn since 1999 still found a way to make it to the games — just not the way he initially hoped.
Sokoli, a building superintendent who trained using a ski machine in the basement of the DUMBO apartment building where he works, aspired to compete in men’s downhill for Kosovo, his native country. He started preparing for the Olympics only eight months ago, after not skiing since childhood, and his story of grit and determination went viral. Although he didn’t qualify for the team, the Kosovo Ski Federation invited him and his wife, Flutura, to South Korea as guests.
“I’m not feeling down,” Sokoli told amNewYork. “I’m not feeling blue at all that I didn’t get to walk in [at the opening ceremony] or race. I’m extremely motivated.”