South African Matt Smith, the nation’s only male cross-country ski contender at the Winter Olympics, writes Grant Shub.

Matt Smith, who will become only the 16th South African to compete at the Winter Olympics in its 100-year history, has tread an unconventional path to reach the summit.

Born in Johannesburg, Smith dreamed of playing for the Springboks but his journey took him via England and eventually to Norway for work.

He always dreamed of representing his nation and a chance encounter with a Mexican skier stoked his dream.

Having previously competed as a triathlete and raced in Ironman events, Smith flipped the script and decided that he would set himself the goal of going from a beginner cross-country skier to an Olympian within three years.

It was a bold, if not outlandish objective, but his sporting genetics coupled with his mental fortitude and strategic outlook saw him break the glass ceiling and qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

“I effectively had 700 working days to qualify for the Olympics and I reverse-engineered the goal,” Smith tells SportsClub from Norway where he was racing and testing the courses for race experience.

“I couldn’t fake 20 years of skiing experience so I had to put the time in on snow and break through mental bio-mechanical barriers of how to balance on objects that aren’t meant to be balanced on,” says the man called Snowbok.

Smith says that he has never seen a South African at the Winter Olympics before so it is not something that was even in his peripheral vision.

“Let’s face it, I’m never going to be medal contending because you can’t make up 20 years of lapped snow,” he says.

“But where I can be world-class and gold-medal-winning is by being a character outside the sport by bringing educational, entertainment and inspirational value to other athletes.”

It has, however, not all been smooth sailing for Smith. He now works with a sports psychologist after he caught himself practicing negative self-talk during races.

“At times, I told myself you’re a joke, an embarrassment and you should take off your South Africa kit because this is just embarrassing.”

He says that once he realised that he spoke to himself like he would never speak to a friend, he sought help and shifted the narrative.

Smith is putting South African skiing on the map in a way where it has not previously been in those parts of the world.

As such, there is a bigger picture for the 35-year-old who recently became a father for the first time.

Smith, who had a joint-party with his son for his christening, is appreciative of Snowsports South Africa and Sascoc for their assistance but he is privately sponsored.

Smith holds the distinction of being the first and only non-World Cup regular starting athlete to have been signed by a private team and it is something the man, nicknamed a ‘ski-fluencer’ owing to his social media presence and podcast series which features interesting guests, will not take for granted.

“I wasn’t signed because of my oncourse results but rather my off-course results,” Smith says with an endearing honesty.

“But I have brought a whole new approach to the sport. I’m probably one of the 10 most recognised guys in the sport and have never won a World Cup or an Olympic medal,” he outlines, which speaks to his growing popularity.

Smith cannot contain his excitement in terms of hitting the snow in Italy and realising his dream of becoming an Olympian in February.

“Becoming an Olympian in sports is the holy grail but you don’t become one on the day you start your race. For me, I became an Olympian in the three years leading up to my race,” he says, while stressing the Olympic effort it takes to get there. He says the biggest price you pay on this journey is not the hours of gruelling training but the fact you have to say ‘no’ to everything else.

“It’s about saying no to the braais, the boerewors and the socialising,” he says with a smile.

But the sacrifice will be worth it for the man who dovetails as a motivational speaker.

Smith, who hails from the tech industry and built a start-up from scratch, says he has already visualised the race, having done it before and knowing the course.

“My job as an athlete is to arrive on the day of my race at the start-line happy, healthy and in the best shape of my life and ready to race the best race of my life,” he says.

“Whatever happens, happens but your main job as an athlete is done if you get there.”