O'Connor happy to party on regardless

WINTER OLYMPICS: Celebrity fever hit cross-country skiing yesterday, but for once it was not the medal favourites everyone wanted to talk to.

Long after the top skiers had disappeared into the athletes' lounge to prepare for the next round of the men's 1.5 km sprint, some of the more unusual competitors were still happily chatting to journalists and posing for photographs.

While the Italians and Norwegians prepared to do battle for the medals, the other competitors from Ireland, Africa and Thailand were enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.

Paul O'Connor, a former long distance runner, became the first Irish athlete to compete in cross-country skiing at the Winter Games. He was 70th out of 71 in four minutes 33.82 seconds.

"I knew I wasn't going to win gold," O'Connor said. "Two weeks ago, nobody in Ireland knew this sport existed. I'm hoping young kids back there will think: 'If that old guy can do it, I can do it', and 12 or 16 years from now we'll win a gold medal," added O'Connor, who at 43 is by his own admission "no spring chicken".

He was full of praise for his fellow no-hopers, saying: "These guys have the Olympic spirit. They train as hard as anybody, maybe even harder."

O'Connor is part of the seven-man Irish team that includes competitors in the skeleton, Alpine skiing and bobsleigh, and has already planned celebrations should Ireland get on the podium.

"If the Irish pull off a miracle and get a medal there'll be a party in Salt Lake City, the likes of which have never been seen," he said. "And if we don't win a medal there'll still be a party."

Kenyan Philip Boit, after finishing his first ever sprint race in a time of 3:51.0 for 66th place, said: "I know everybody is wondering about me as they don't believe a Kenyan can ski. They find it weird."

The 30-year-old grabbed all the headlines in Nagano when he became the first African to take part in a Winter Olympics.

He was 92nd and last in the 10km classical event four years ago in 47:25.5, but after knocking 11 minutes off that time in last Thursday's classical section of the combined pursuit, Boit is looking to the Torino Games in 2006.

"I took 11 minutes off, which is a great improvement for 10km. If I concentrate I know I can take 10 minutes off in four years."

Cameroon's Isaac Menyali decided to become a skier after seeing snow on television as a child.

The 29-year-old eventually took up cross-country skiing in 1997 after travelling to study at the University of Milwaukee.

Asked about his Olympic experiencer, Menyali said: "It's like being in a fantasy world." Menyali was last in the 10km classical section of the combined pursuit but fared better yesterday, finishing 67th in the morning's qualifying round in 4:10.07.

Thailand's Prawat Nagvajara, who trains by riding his bicycle 40 miles a day and rollerskating, was 68th in 4:14.55.

...Tor Arne Hetland of Norway raced to victory in the men's 1.5 km sprint. The 28-year-old from Trondheim held off Italian hope Cristian Zorzi in what turned out to be a classic race where Zorzi was pipped to the silver medal by surprise package Peter Schlickenrieder of Germany.