On a freezing March afternoon in Trondheim, Rakan Alireza triumphantly crossed the finish line of the World Ski Championships. After years of gruelling training and competition, the 28-year-old Saudi had secured his spot on the start line of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Now, six months later, Rakan’s build-up to the Games in Italy is in full swing.
His path to becoming one of Saudi Arabia’s first Winter Olympians has been anything but conventional. He did not grow up surrounded by ski slopes, alpine chalets, and whitewashed landscapes. Instead, his childhood was spent in Jeddah – framed by the desert, the sea, and a culture where winter sports felt as distant as the snow-capped Alps themselves.
“I didn’t grow up in the snow or even dream of becoming an Olympian,” Rakan tells Villa 88 Man. “I found this sport by accident, and fell in love with it by choice.”
That happy accident has since become a calling that has redefined the Saudi athlete’s life.
Before the snow, there was water. Rakan was initially a competitive rower, and while the two sports might seem worlds apart, the discipline he developed on the water has helped him on the mountains.
“Personally, I’ve found that resilience and a deep internal drive – that willingness to suffer a little more than the person next to you – often make the biggest difference,” the Saudi skier reflects. “Of course, a love for the sport helps. If you don’t enjoy the grind, the cold, or the long hours alone on the trails, it’s hard to last.”
Though skiing began simply as a new sporting challenge for Rakan, it quickly became an obsession. And in 2021, he set himself the ambitious goal of qualifying for the Winter Olympics – not in 2026, but the following year in Beijing, China.
Many dismissed his efforts as fanciful, but, over four months, he grafted on the slopes of Sweden to ready himself for elite competition.
“Most experienced coaches thought it was impossible,” Rakan recalls. “They’d laugh and compare me to the Jamaican bobsled team or Eddie the Eagle [both iconic Winter Olympic underdogs].”
“But,” he adds, “I kept working, kept showing up, and slowly, those same people became my biggest supporters. My story started spreading around Sweden, and I was amazed by how many people came up to me just to say, ‘Keep going, we’re rooting for you.’”
“It was, and still is, humbling, and reminds me how powerful it is when someone dares to try something new, no matter where they’re from.”Remarkably, Rakan managed to qualify for Beijing.
However, Saudi Arabia was only awarded one place in the Games, and it went instead to compatriot Fayik Abdi, who competed in the giant slalom. Rather than dwell on the disappointment, Rakan returned to training with renewed vigour and, in February 2026, his Olympic dream will finally come true.
“That setback forced me to step back and reflect. I realised I had become so obsessed with the goal that I forgot to enjoy the sport,” he says. “Ironically, if I had gone to Beijing, I might’ve walked away from skiing afterwards. Three years later, I’ve qualified again – not just with the same hunger, but with a whole new perspective.”
So how exactly does a Saudi athlete prepare for the most snow-dependent of sports while living in Jeddah? Rakan credits his Swedish coach, Christer Skog, with turning limitation into opportunity.
“Instead of comparing me to athletes from traditional skiing nations, my coach focused on who I am and how we could make things work based on my environment,” Rakan explains.
That has meant long hours of endurance training and even led to Rakan signing up to compete in a triathlon to push his physical boundaries.
“If you live in Jeddah, you’ve probably seen me running through different neighbourhoods, always exploring and logging the hours. I enjoy the process of getting fit and becoming a better athlete every day. I keep striving to be the best version of myself.”
Beyond physical preparation, Rakan’s journey has been about resilience and perspective. He vividly remembers a particular race in Falun, Sweden, in 2021, considered one of the toughest ski tracks in the world. His parents flew in to watch.
“On race day, the weather was brutal, and right before the start, my body began cramping – I knew it was going to be a battle,” he recalls. While he did not achieve the result he hoped for that day, he recalls that his family’s cheers felt like a victory.
Such experiences have shaped his outlook as much as any result, and when he takes to the piste at the Winter Olympics, Rakan is planning to savour every moment. It will be the biggest sporting platform of the Saudi’s career, though he does not view it as the end of his journey.
“If I can inspire just one person to chase something that seems out of reach, then I’ve done my job,” Rakan says determinedly.
“I don’t want to be remembered just for making it to the Olympics,” he concludes. “I want to be remembered for breaking the mould, for enjoying the journey, and for proving that passion, purpose, and persistence can truly take you further than anyone expects.”
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