Heart Of Gold Kenyan’s Struggle Brings Out Best In Norway’s Star

Every once in a rare while, there is a moment in sports that makes us forget about money and agents and greed, a moment so pure and wonderful that it’s almost too corny to be true.

Wednesday, under a driving, freezing rain atop Snow Harp Hakuba, the Olympics offered one of those moments.

Red-headed Norwegian Bjorn Daehlie, the most decorated cross-country skier of all time, had just won his sixth Olympic gold medal and was gabbing with the media for what seemed an eternity. There were no more skiers in sight and the crowd began to file out.

But this 10K race was far from over.

Four kilometers from the finish was Philip Boit of Kenya, all alone in the woods, half-running, half-snowplowing up a hill. He looked like a beginning skier out there, which makes perfect sense considering that he first saw snow two years ago. Boit’s struggle with the hill flashed up on the jumbo screen and the fans who were still around began to chant “Philip! Philip!”

Daehlie couldn’t help but watch.

Reporters wondered whether Boit would quit. The announcer said: “Boit seems to be running out there, yes, he is running.” Finally, his red and green jumpsuit emerged from atop a hill, and the crowd went wild. Boit, a former distance runner, pushed his poles with his skinny arms, huffing and puffing down the final stretch. He finally crossed the finish line, and fell into Daehlie’s outstretched arms.

The two men couldn’t look or be more different, but on this frigid morning, they hugged like brothers. The crowd continued to chant Boit’s name, as a throng of reporters rushed over to capture the moment.

“He told me that I am a champion, too, and that I should keep up what I am doing,” said Boit, whose time was 20 minutes slower than Daehlie’s (27:24.5 to 47:25.5).

“This race was very hard for me. I still have a lot of trouble with my technique, and the terrible weather kept my skis from holding the ground, so I had to use my power and upper body to get me through. At one point, on a downhill, my skis crossed and I fell down. I thought about quitting, but I had come too far to quit, so I picked myself up and kept going.”

Boit is the product of a Nike experiment to turn Kenyan distance runners into cross-country skiers. He left Nairobi on a balmy 85-degree day exactly two years ago this week and headed to Finland, where he has slowly learned to brave the cold and to ski. Critics say Nike is exploiting Boit for commercial gain, but he sternly disagrees.

“This is a great success, even though I finished in last place,” he said. “Everybody will be able to see an African man skiing, and this is very important. I am still learning, but I believe I can make great improvements.”

Daehlie, meanwhile, was trying to put his historic medal in perspective. No male Winter Olympian has ever won more golds, and his nine medals overall trails only Russian skier Raisa Smetanina, who won 10.

“Of course, this is fantastic, but I think I will appreciate it more in a few years, when I’m a grandfather and watching old videos,” said Daehlie, 30.

In women’s cross country, Larissa Lazutina of Russia won her second gold medal of the games, in the 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit.

The 32-year-old Russian added the win to the gold in 5K she won two days before, sprinting away from her rivals at Snow Harp.