Pakistan at the 2014 Winter Olympics

Pakistan at the
2014 Winter Olympics
IOC codePAK
NOCNational Olympic Committee of Pakistan
Websitenocpakistan.org
in Sochi
Competitors1 in 1 sport
Flag bearer (opening)Muhammad Karim
Flag bearer (closing)Muhammad Karim
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

Pakistan competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. Pakistan's team consisted of one athlete in alpine skiing. The country competed for the second consecutive Winter Games, after making its debut four years earlier in Vancouver. The flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies was Pakistan's sole athlete Muhammad Karim.

The 2014 Winter Olympics marked the first time that Pakistani athlete competed in Russia as Pakistan and 63 other western nations participated at the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet-Afghan war.

Background

The first ski resort in Pakistan was opened in 1958, in the Naltar Valley. It was originally for air force pilots to train, but later opened up to civilians. The Ski Federation of Pakistan was founded in 1990.[1] The 2010 Olympic Games was Pakistan's debut at the Winter Olympics. sending one athlete to compete in the giant slalom. They first participated at the Summer Olympics in the 1948 Games, and won their first Summer Olympics medal in 1956.[2][3]

The Pakistan Ski Federation feared their qualified athlete might not be able to compete at the Games, due to the continuing conflict between the Pakistan Olympic Association and the Pakistani Government. The International Olympic Committee had given a deadline of January 2014 for both sides to solve their dispute.[4] The issues were solved and the country did compete as scheduled.[5]

The flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies was Pakistan's sole athlete Muhammad Karim.[6][7]

Alpine skiing

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics

Pakistan qualified one athlete for alpine skiing, Muhammad Karim. Pakistan's first winter Olympian Muhammad Abbas also traveled to the Games as a backup.[5] Karim had less than the maximum 140 points needed to qualify for the B qualification standard, a requirement set by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS).[8] Abbas and skier Mir Nawaz also qualified for the Olympics, but the Ski Federation of Pakistan elected to send the best of the three to compete, since they could only send one male athlete that qualified with the B qualification standard.[9][10] Muhammad Karim became the second ever athlete to represent the country at the Winter Olympics.[11] Karim managed to improve the country's placement in the giant slalom from four years prior by finishing in 71st place (among 72 athletes that finished the race).[12][13]

Athlete Event Run 1 Run 2 Total
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Muhammad Karim[4][5] Men's giant slalom 1:43.44 77 1:43.97 71 3:27.41 71

See also

References

  1. ^ Ali, Sana (15 February 2018). "Remote Pakistan Village Produces 2 Olympic Hopefuls". VOA. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Pakistan at the Olympics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Pakistan at the Olympic Games – All Key Facts, Winter Olympics 2018, PyeongChang". Olympic. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b Raheel, Natasha (29 December 2013). "Pakistan may miss Winter Olympics 2014". The Express Tribune. Karachi, Pakistan. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Raheel, Natasha (31 January 2014). "Karim to represent Pakistan in Winter Olympics". The Express Tribune. Karachi, Pakistan. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony – Flagbearers" (PDF). Olympic.org. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Sochi 2014 Closing Ceremony – Flagbearers" (PDF). Olympic.org. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Qualification Systems for XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014" (PDF). International Ski Federation. December 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Pakistan ski team qualify for 2014 Winter Olympics". Dawn. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  10. ^ Asianet (9 April 2013). "Pakistani skiers qualify for Olympic winter games-2014". Global Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  11. ^ Battaglia, Joe (7 February 2014). "Alpine skier Mohammad Karim hoping to make his mark for Pakistan at Sochi Games". NBC. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  12. ^ Raheel, Natasha (19 February 2014). "Karim improves Pakistan's record in Sochi". The Express Tribune. Karachi, Pakistan. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Alpine Skiing at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games: Men's Giant Slalom". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2018.