16-year-old skier Lara Markthaler is skiing the slopes to her dreams as South Africa’s only competitor in the Winter Youth Olympics!
Global (15 January 2024) — The 2024 Youth Olympics set in South Korea is fast approaching, and hot on its trail is teen alpine skier, South African Lara Markthaler.
Lara is set to be the only South African to compete at the Youth Winter Olympics 2024, which is a huge accomplishment for any 16-year-old. She also happens to be one the youngest competitors in her event, making it a double-whammy achievement!
Given that African nations are said to not be regular participants in the Winter Youth Olympics for geographic and climate-related reasons as SASCOC’s Nozipho Jafta explains, it’s something special to anticipate seeing a skier with green and gold blood take to the slopes amongst the world’s best.
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“I am going there with a goal and that would be to break into the top 20. Anything more than that would be a bonus at this stage of my career and I’ll be trying my hardest to get as high on the leaderboard as I can. I also want to tap into the whole Olympic spirit,” the young skier shared of her Olympic debut dreams.
The budding snow star Lara grew up in the German Alps and calls Germany home. While skiing has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, she also has an affinity for mountain biking and adventure in general.
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Still, skiing took first place in her life, and with her dad coaching her and her mom making sure she’s a healthy athlete in the role of her nutritionist, she has a well-oiled support structure in her corner.
“Lara is an inspiration and we are all behind her,” added Nozipho Jafta of Team South Africa’s sole flag-flyer.
Sources: Team South Africa
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