Jasmine Campbell, the St. John-born skier who is representing the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, carried the territory’s flag Friday in the opening ceremony.
Campbell was born on St. John in 1991. Her family moved from the islands to Idaho when she was around 9 years old. She began ski racing in Idaho; and has trained there and in South America. She is an Alpine racer, and will compete in slalom and giant Slalom.
During Friday’s ceremony, the V.I. flag was one of 88 national banners paraded around the stadium. The V.I. team – just Campbell herself – may not have been as large as the contingents from Russia, the United States, or Canada, but Campbell said she was delighted to represent the territory.
"The whole experience was positively surreal," Campbell reported, according to a news release issued by the V.I. Olympic Committee.
"I was able to meet with tons of interesting people from countries I know I’ll never be able to pronounce. I felt like I could travel the globe in just 100 meters. The Olympics really are a unique opportunity to get so many people from so many different walks of life to come and walk together in the same space if only for a little while. It was a real honor and privilege to be a part of that."
She said that backstage, waiting to carry the banner before the eyes of the world, the mood was supportive, but there was always a competitive edge.
"Backstage everyone was remarkably kind and welcoming as they inquired where you were from, what sport you were doing, and if you wanted to exchange pins. Some are pretty aggressive when it comes to exchanging pins, but I’m pretty sure it can be safely assumed that when the most competitive people in the world are gathered together and you give them a mission to exchange pins, they will ‘git ‘er done.’"
Campbell is competing Feb. 18 and 21. In the meantime, she is gearing up for the races.
Campbell can be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VirginIslandsOlympics.
