Robel Teklemariam is self-admittedly crazy.
At the age of 12'when he first skied'he flew off 8-to-10 foot high peaks in the majestic New York mountains while gliding on cross country skis, a daring and unheard of thought among his peers at North County School in Lake Placid, N.Y. For Teklemariam, however, leaping through the air was what he loved to do, even if it was unconventional.
'It was something different,' he said. 'It was awesome. I was crazy. It was crazy stuff.'
Now, nearly 20 years later, the part-time Madison resident will once again do the unthinkable: When he competes in the 15-kilometer classical race Friday, he will be the first Ethiopian to compete in the Winter Olympics, earning respect from the world and most importantly'his mother.
'I am scared of snow!' Yeshareg Demisse proclaimed. 'I don't know how he does it. I can't express my pride in him.'
The fear of snow is understandable considering it was foreign to Demisse until she moved to New York from Ethiopia in 1982. The former U.N. employee moved her children one year later.
'Back home in Ethiopia it was very difficult. The education standard was down. The political situation was deteriorating,' said Demisse, who now resides in Richmond, Va. 'For anyone, if there was an opportunity to leave, they took it. I got that chance. I left.'
All six siblings remain close, yet for Robel, 31, Mahlet and younger twins Benyam and Yoseph, a 2001 UW-Madison graduate, their lives revolve around Madison. Their link to the city is Demisse's part-ownership of an Ethiopian restaurant, Yirgalem, 2623 Monroe St., and the office of the Ethiopian Skiing Federation, founded by Robel and Yoseph.
Chair Robel said he asked Yoseph to be vice chair because he was the only other Ethiopian skier he knew. Yoseph, who still skis, said UW-Madison helped him gain skills that he now applies to his role on ENSF.
'You learn a lot outside the classroom,' he said, '[And] sitting on [the Student Services' Financial Committee] for two years and the Freedom Ride in 2001 was great.'
Currently, Robel spends summers in Madison and lives in Crested Butte, Colo., the rest of the year. Yoseph and Benyam permanently live in Madison.
After moving to Carbondale, Colo., to ski in high school, Robel competed at the University of New Hampshire, graduating in 1997, around the time Yoseph moved to Madison. By this time, Robel knew he desired to compete in the Olympics.
'He took to skis like a duck in the water,' said Mark Clark, Robel's ski instructor at Colorado Rocky Mountain School. 'He's a great skier ... It's a real testament to him. He talked about the Olympics in high school.'
The Olympic dream had pit stops, however, and after college, Robel returned to the Rocky Mountains. He once again returned to New York, working in the fashion industry. Though successful, he knew he wanted to ski again.
'I missed skiing. I missed Colorado. ?? I could ski for almost nothing or I could make a lot of money in New York. I could choose money or I could pick to enjoy life,' Robel said. 'I chose life.'
So, in 2002, he returned to Colorado. But with little idea of how to access the Olympics through Ethiopia, Robel needed help opening the Olympic door. Enter Yoseph.
It took time because skiing to Ethiopians is a foreign concept.
'I wanted to ski for Ethiopia, it's where I'm from,' Robel said. 'But it was a weird concept for them. It took a while to get it established.'
Yoseph now works for Madison's ABC affiliate as well as working for ENSF. Mahlet heads public relations with the goal of promoting her brother and skiing to Ethiopians.
'The family is amazing; Robel is amazing. He has a dare-to-dream attitude,' said Shehime Arshad, ENSF secretary and assistant chair of Club Med resort in Crested Butte where Robel works as a ski instructor. '[Daring to dream] is the goal of ENSF: To prove that anyone can pursue something that they want to.'
He realizes his past and that competing in the Olympics is an incredible accomplishment. He has not returned to Ethiopia in 22 years and wants to represent his country.
'I'm nervous, but there's a lot of pressure I put on myself. I want to show anything's possible,' Robel said. 'There are going to be a lot of Ethiopians watching me. ... And it may sound crazy, but I want to show my country what I can do.'
