Jeffrey falters in men’s slalom to end M’sia’s campaign at Beijing Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR − Malaysia’s challenge at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics came to an end after national alpine skier Jeffrey Webb failed to make headway in the men’s slalom event at the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Centre yesterday.

Jeffrey, the first Malaysian athlete to make two appearances at the Winter Olympics after his debut in the 2018 edition in PyeongChang, South Korea, fell at the beginning of the Run 1 competition which prevented him from continuing in the event (classified as Did Not Finish).

The classification denied him the chance to compete in Run 2 to continue his challenge for the overall best position.

The result saw the 23-year-old US-based athlete suffer misfortune for the second time in a row after failing to finish in the same event four years ago.

“Jeffrey has tried his best but luck was not on his side. We thank him for flying Malaysia’s flag at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

“We hope Jeffrey will continue to train hard and come back stronger at the next Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026,” Malaysia’s chef-de-mission to Beijing 2022 Moira Tan said in a post on the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s (OCM) Facebook page.

Before this, national Alpine skier Aruwin Idami Salehhuddin, who made her Winter Olympics debut at this Games, ended her challenge in the women’s giant slalom event by being in the top 40 on February 7.

However, two days later, fate was not on the 17-year-old’s side in her second event − the women’s slalom − when the Colorado-based skier failed to finish after falling on Run 1.

Only the duo represented Malaysia at this prestigious Games which is scheduled to end on February 20.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey − through a video clip the OCM shared with the media − said he felt a little disappointed at failing to make headway in the men’s slalom event.

“Today, it didn’t go as well as I (had) hoped (for) but I am happy with how I trained leading up to this event. I would like to thank everybody for their kind words and support… I hope to continue in the future,” he said. – Bernama, February 17, 2022