Muhammad Abbas (skier)

Muhammad Abbas (Urdu: محمد عباس), (born 16 February 1986)[1] is a Pakistani alpine skier[1][2] who was his nation's first competitor at the Winter Olympic Games, in 2010. Muhammad Abbas was not expected to win any medal, but he outraced some of the other debuting skiers. A group said to be particularly interested were Pakistani Canadians.[3]

Muhammad Abbas
Born (1986-02-16) 16 February 1986
Gilgit, Pakistan
OccupationAlpine skier
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesGiant slalom

Abbas was raised in a small village in Northern Pakistan, and his first pair of skis were carved out of wood by his father.[2] He was discovered at age 8 by a Pakistani Air Force officer (Group Captain(R) Zahid Farooq) who remains his coach. Abbas works for the Air Force, his assignment being to ski.[2]

Career

2010

In the 2010 Winter Olympics he competed in the Men's giant slalom event. Out of the 103 skiers he finished 79th with a time of 1:38.27 in the first run and 1:42.31 in the second run, for a total time of 3:20.58, which was 42.75 seconds off the pace.[4][5]

2011

Abbas participated in the 2011 South Asian Winter Games held in India in January.[6]

See also

References
  1. FIS bio
  2. "From Naltar to Whislter – the story of Muhammad Abbas". Dawn. AP/Reuters. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  3. CTV Olympics
  4. "Men's Giant Slalom (Schedule and Results)". Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  5. "Pakistan enjoys historic Alpine Skiing moment". Dawn. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  6. News-First South Asian Winter Games PAF Retrieved 23 March 2011
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