Donovan Carrillo of Mexico performs during his men's singles short program on Tuesday. [Photo/REUTERS]

Carrillo becomes Mexico's first Olympic skater in 30 years

They said he should play soccer. They said figure skating was for girls. They said winter sports made no sense in temperate Guadalajara.

But none of those naysayers deterred Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo, the rare Latin American athlete at the Winter Games, who has now become an even rarer Beijing Olympics success story－however relative－from that part of the globe. Carrillo had a career-best performance in the marquee sport of the Winter Games on Tuesday at Capital Indoor Stadium, featuring a well-executed quad toe-loop and difficult triple axel.

That allows him to advance to the longer free skate competition on Thursday－a first for Mexico, which hadn't had an Olympic skater in three decades. It instantly made Carrillo the most successful Mexican figure skater in history.

"For me to have the opportunity to be one of the few Latin American athletes here at the Olympics, it's really something that motivates me to do my best and to inspire more kids in Latin America and in my country to try to practice winter sports," Carrillo said. "I used to talk this dream with people. They were always laughing or telling me that it was impossible for a Mexican to qualify."

In Beijing, Carrillo is one of 33 athletes from nine Latin teams: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico. There are another 10 athletes from four other Caribbean teams, including the Virgin Islands, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. None have ever medaled at the Winter Games.

Brazil－typically a Summer Games powerhouse－claims the most athletes but the 10 Winter Games competitors in Beijing are a fraction of their 302 that competed in the Tokyo Games last year.

Among the four athletes on the Mexico team, Carrillo is the only one who stayed in Mexico to nurture his talents, which he insists on doing. Two others have Mexican heritage but train in the United States and Canada, while a third－Sarah Schleper - joined the Mexico team after marrying a Mexican and retiring from the US ski team.

Carrillo's stronger-than-expected figure skating short program on Tuesday was steeped in national pride. His music was set to Santana, his father's favorite band. Carrillo's blade covers displayed the green, white and red colors of the Mexican flag. He wore a sparkly black and gold costume that was custom-made by Mexican fashion designer Edgar Lozzano, who offered it to the skater for free.

"It's something that I always try to do with my performance, to involve the Mexican culture," Carrillo said. "Carlos Santana is Mexican. I always try to take on different artists who could help me and motivate me to represent my country."

Donovan Carrillo of Mexico performs during his men's singles short program on Tuesday. [Photo/REUTERS]

The 22-year-old is originally from Guadalajara but moved with his coach to Leon when he was 13 because his hometown rink shut down. He dreamed of Olympic glory and idolized Spain's Javier Fernandez, who took bronze at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang to become the first Spanish figure skater to medal.

Brenda Elsey, a sports history professor at Hofstra University, said win or lose, Carrillo's debut at the Olympics can only be a good thing for Mexico and the rest of Latin America in terms of winter sports engagement. Mexico does not have a national professional sports league or competitive collegiate system for any winter sports. The Winter Games are also not a geopolitical priority for its government.

"The fact is they would have to go on the European circuit to be able to qualify. The process to get to the Olympics is more of a challenge than people realize, particularly because there's not a huge culture necessarily within Latin America that is clamoring for this," Elsey said.

Even at the popular ski resorts in Chile and Argentina, Elsey said the mountain snow sports are so cost-prohibitive that it's effectively reserved for Western tourists and locals with European roots who are already familiar with skiing.

The lack of a Latin American presence at the Winter Games is surely an issue the International Olympic Committee has taken note of. Elsey said winter sports themselves are rooted in Nordic traditions, which is also why Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia are not well-represented.

Agencies via Xinhua