Fayik Abdi, 24, is the sole representative of Saudi Arabia at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Hosted by Beijing, China, the international winter multisport event will be held from February 4-20, 2022.

Born in San Diego, California, United States, Abdi tried skiing for the first time in 2001 in Lebanon. It was his mother who taught him how to ski.

Aside from skiing, Abdi is also into basketball, football, wakeboarding and scuba diving. His younger brothers Faris Abdi and Tarik Abdi are both football players.

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In 2020, Fayik graduated from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. When he went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2021, he accepted an offer from the kingdom’s Winter Sports Association to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In November 2021, Fayik had his first international start in Sweden. In December 2021, he finished 14th in giant slalom in Montenegro and ninth in giant slalom in Liechtenstein.

Coached by Daniel Sanz, Fayik will compete in giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Fayik travelled to Austria, Italy, Montenegro and Sweden with International Racers ski team owner Jeff Books to prepare for the competition.

In July 2015, Beijing was elected as the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This marks the first time the Winter Olympics is held in China.

Including Fayik, a total of 2,871 athletes from 91 countries and territories will compete in 109 events in seven sports. The events will be held not only in Beijing but also in other parts of China including Yanqing and Chongli.

Fayik is currently based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He is the first ever athlete to represent the kingdom in the Winter Olympics.