The Associated Press Adam Crook of the British Virgin Islands gets air during men's ski half pipe qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo\/Sergei Grits) <\/p>\n
AP\/February 18, 2014 <\/p>\n
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) Adam Crooks first hints at becoming a Winter Olympian for the British Virgin Islands took the top brass there by surprise. <\/p>\n
They thought I was talking about water skiing, he said. <\/p>\n
Nope. Freestyle skiing. <\/p>\n
The 21-year-old became the first winter athlete to compete for his island country in 30 years (the late Errol Spence was a speedskater for the country at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics) when he took to the halfpipe Tuesday. <\/p>\n
He finished 27th, though the result wasnt as important as the mission. <\/p>\n
Crooks parents, Lin and Barney, met while working in Tortola, later moved back to Lins hometown in Wisconsin and are now back in the islands. <\/p>\n
To realize his dream of skiing in the Olympics, Adam had to move to Colorado for ski school. To fund his career, he cobbled together money from Olympic scholarship funds, sponsors and, of course, his parents. <\/p>\n
He and his folks essentially are the British Virgin Islands Ski Association, a federation they had to start so he could enter World Cup events Crook needed to make the Olympics. <\/p>\n
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Read more from the original source: <\/p>\n
SOCHI SCENE: From the islands<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Associated Press Adam Crook of the British Virgin Islands gets air during men's ski half pipe qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. Continue reading