Dream come true: S.L. man becomes first Olympic cross-country skier to represent his native Colombia

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man is representing his home country of Colombia in the Olympics as a cross-country skier.

Not only is this a first for Sebastian Uprimny from Salt Lake City, it’s also a first for his country.

“Some people are more excited than I am,” Uprimny told KSL.

Uprimny, 42, moved to Utah from Colombia in 2000 to learn English and ended up falling in love with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

From then on, he was inspired and motivated to one day make it to the Olympics.

“I remember I was sitting down in my uncle’s home where I used to live back then and I told them, ‘Hey guys, I’ll make it in 2006,’” Uprimny said.

But Uprimny later married, had four kids and started a language translation business in Salt Lake. The year 2006 came and went — as did 2010 and 2014 — and his Olympic dream was fading away.

Uprimny was faced with a major decision.

“Two years ago, I said, ‘OK, I’m getting to the point in my life where either I make it or I move on,’” he said. Uprimny and his wife agreed to give it their all to make his Olympic dream come true.

Uprimny’s nonstop cross-country skiing led him to races in Turkey, where he recently qualified to represent Colombia in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“First time there was a cross-country skier (from Colombia) in history,” he said.

Next for Uprimny is to walk into the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremonies — proving to his children that hard work makes dreams come true.

“That’s what I’ve been dreaming of for so many years for me,” he said. “Since I was a kid, to see an opening ceremony.”

Uprimny will be one of four Winter Olympic athletes representing Colombia and the first and only cross-country skier in the country’s history competing in the Winter Games.

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