Singapore's Faiz Basha overcomes tricky conditions, finishes 35th in slalom at Winter Olympics
More than half of the 96 competitors did not finish after a difficult first run in the men's slalom.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: Singapore alpine skier Faiz Basha overcame tricky conditions in the first run of the men's slalom at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy, to finish 35th overall on Monday (Feb 16).
In an event that saw more than half of the 96 competitors record a DNF (did not finish), the Singaporean clocked a time of 2 minutes and 20.45 seconds across two runs.
The 23-year-old held his nerve in the first run as driving snow and a tricky course setup proved problematic for many racers, including giant slalom Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil, who did not finish.
After both runs, Switzerland's Loic Meillard took gold, Austria's Fabio Gstrein the silver and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen bronze.
"From inspection, my coach and I, we knew around 60 per cent of the field would DNF. We studied the course carefully and decided where (it) was safe to push and where to be smarter. And in the end, it worked out," said Faiz on Tuesday.
"Mentally, with all the DNFs before me, it was difficult to push for speed, and for sure, my first run I was holding back."
Earlier in the Games, Faiz registered a DNF in the men's giant slalom.
The 23-year-old lost a ski in the first run of the event while trying to round a gate, causing him to skid out. He did not compete in the event's second run as a result of not finishing the first.
In alpine skiing, athletes move downhill between gates, with the giant slalom having a wider distance between these gates as compared to the slalom event. Skiiers compete in two time trials, with the individual with the fastest total time crowned the winner.
Faiz is Singapore’s second athlete ever at the Winter Olympics, after short track speed skater Cheyenne Goh, who participated in the 2018 edition.
In January last year, the Singaporean met the qualifying mark for the slalom event, and did so for the giant slalom event in recent months.
He was the top-ranked Southeast Asian athlete (12th) at the 2025 Asian Winter Games and the first Singaporean to reach the finals at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.
"I am hoping to become more competitive at least in the Asian scene. As I said, it's just a first Olympics for me, but the journey has pushed me and now I have a good foundation to go much further," said Faiz.
"There are things in training which I am yet to apply in races and I am excited to figure it out and get much faster."
