Salt Lake Olympics 2002

The Salt Lake Olympics in February 2002 provided an amazing experience for the Nepal Ski Team. It was the first ever winter games appearance for Nepal and Jayaram Khadka was the only athlete. Richard Morley accompanied him as team trainer and for much the preliminary week they were the only members of the Nepal contingent.

At the official welcome ceremony the pair of them stood alone entirely dwarfed between the massive British and New Zealand teams as civil dignitaries welcomed Nepal into the Winter Olympic fold. Jayaram accepted various official tokens given on behalf of the local community to welcome them and the media suddenly recognised him as the famous boy who a few years before had won an epic battle against the British government.

The effect was amazing. Whilst the British team ironically looked on, the pair was immediately surrounded by dozens of journalists and camera crews who immersed them in a wild media frenzy about a poor Nepali mountain boy who won his right to live in a historic English castle and had now become his nation’s first ever Winter Olympian.

Feature articles and special TV programmes soon followed and, as they paraded at the official opening ceremony a few days later, with Jayaram proudly carrying the uniquely shaped national flag, a huge roar went across the stadium when Richard lifted his clasped hands in the traditional Nepali greeting. It was a glorious moment transmitted all over the world as the official TV coverage lingered over the unusual sight of a very tall Englishman saying ‘Namaste’ to the world on behalf of the highest of all nations. Years later Richard recalled that moment in a press interview as the greatest in his sporting career.

But the ceremony was almost entirely ignored by Nepal. One junior official and a local liaison officer accompanied the team during the opening ceremony but the main NOC dignitaries were nowhere to be seen. The nation was engrossed in a bitter civil war that had cost thousands of lives over the previous 6 years and battle lines had been drawn between team members from the outset.

Unknown to the media there had been a major argument over the headwear to be worn at the opening ceremony.

Rana was a founding member of the ruling Nepal Congress Party which had dominated Nepali politics since the introduction of democracy in 1990 and which had recently decided to use massive military force against Maoist insurgents who accused it of endemic corruption and human rights violations.

The popular trademark of Congress Party members was a black topi hat and a few hours before the opening ceremony Jayaram and Richard were ordered by the Nepali official to discard the previously agreed uniform headgear, a colourful ‘Taka’ cloth cap favoured by the peasants, and replace it with the black Congress Party version. This was unacceptable to both the athlete and his trainer who felt it a direct intrusion of politics into sport and they refused to comply. They felt that wearing the Congress Party badge would be an insult to the millions of their fellow countrymen who were actively engaged in resisting military force.

Jay Khadka, Salt Lake opening ceremony (screen grab)

Richard Morley, Salt Lake opening ceremony (screen grab)

And so the team marched into the stadium with two contrasting hats. The official and the liaison officer wore the Government hat whilst Jayaram and Richard took the People’s Taka cap with them. (See photographs) The team was at war and many Nepali people watching the ceremony on television must have noticed it.

Richard and Jayaram were immediately denied social invitations by the senior Nepali officials who were all staying in luxury suites at the best 5 star hotel. The junior official and the liaison officer were invited to various receptions but the athlete and the trainer were ignored.

Then Richard and Jayaram were told that there was no funding available even for their air fares from France, let alone all their other expenses. They would have to pay everything themselves.

Rukma Shumsha Rana, Nepalese Ambassador to India, 2002 President Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC)	Druba Pradhan, President Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), 2002 Vice President NOC, Former Nepal Chief of Police

The official explained that Rana and Vice President Druba Pradhan had both flown First Class with their wives from Nepal and so had used up the entire grant as their hotel expenses and air tickets were particularly expensive because of the lateness of the booking. Apparently Jayaram should have qualified sooner if he expected his fare to be paid.

But Colonel Kumar, President of the Indian Olympic Committee, was staying in the Olympic Village with his team and told Richard over breakfast that specific funding had been given for both the athlete and the trainer to attend. He said he knew for certain that at least $32,000 had been given to Nepal for air fares and expenses and senior officials who wished to travel First Class were expected to pay the difference themselves. Plainly Rana had broken the agreement between them over funding and Kumar told Richard to get advice from the IOC office and confront Rana with the facts.

The meeting was explosive. Rana said that his social rank was such that he couldn’t possibly be expected to travel anything other than First Class and that Richard was wealthy enough to pay for the team himself. Their political differences over the civil war indicated in Richard’s journalism and demonstrated by the cap incident had now led to the open breakdown of their financial agreement. But there was another issue between the two sides that stretched into Nepali history and was the result of a most remarkable coincidence.

Rukma Shumsha Rana was (and still is) the senior member of a vastly wealthy family that has ruled or dominated Nepal for more than 150 years. Their palaces were strewn around Kathmandu in much the same way as the Romanov castles once littered St. Petersburg.

Born in Calcutta in 1936 and largely western educated, Rana is arguably one of the richest men in Asia, owner of several major industries and holder of exclusive levy rights over various key imported goods from India into Nepal. He was a President of the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the son of Suwarna Shamsher Rana, founder leader of Nepal Congress Party. Accordingly he sponsored the Government Party and had a major influence over its leader, Girija Prasad Koirala.

Accordingly he was President of Asia Olympic Media Committee and the principal owner of several major media outlets in Nepal. And besides being President of the NOC, the Nepal Ski Association, the Nepal Athletic Association and the Nepal Tae Kwon-do Association, he was also Vice President of the National Sports Council on three occasions. Rana therefore controlled a whole range of commercial, media, political and sporting networks and was able to manage his business associates all over the world under the convenience and protection of the Olympic organisation.

His family came from northern India and seized power in Nepal in 1846 after the murder of two ethnic Nepali brothers who were commonly regarded as the greatest leaders that Nepal ever had. Bhimsen Thapa and Amar Singh Thapa, respectively Prime Minister and Army commander, had defended Nepal for decades against the attempts of the British East India Company to include it in their Indian Empire during the early 19th Century.

They won the war in so far as Nepal retained its independence but they lost significant territory to the English after their army was betrayed by the Rana family to the enemy. Thereafter they were cruelly imprisoned and forced to commit suicide in 1839 while the Ranas not only took control of the land ceded to the British, but 7 years later they seized total control of Nepal itself which they ruled as despots until 1953.

Consequently there was an ancient feud between the Thapas and the Ranas with many ordinary Nepalese believing that the Thapas were the last true Nepali people to govern Nepal. The Ranas, the ruling royal Bikram-Shah family and many of the ruling Congress Party were all of Indian origin. Even the long serving Nepali Congress Prime Minister, Grija Koirala was actually an Indian.

So it was that history took a bizarre twist that evening in Salt Lake City as Rukma Shumsha Rana faced Jayaram Khadka across the table in heated argument. They were both fully aware of each other’s ancestral background. For just as Rana was the direct lineal descendent of those who had betrayed the Thapas, Jayaram Khadka on his mother’s side was the direct lineal descendent of Amar Singh Thapa. His mother, Ganga Thapa was the eldest child of the eldest son of the eldest son, etc, all the way back to the great general himself. Jayaram was her only son and, like his great forefather 170 years before, he had won a great victory against the British, although his battleground was the ballot box rather than a blood strewn field.

The meeting ended inconclusively but at least there was ongoing dialogue. Besides which there was much more important work to be done than arguing over money.

Richard and Jayaram had no opportunity before the Olympics to do much training together and now they were in the midst of an intensive daily programme aimed to bring credit upon the team and the nation. Every day they rose at 5am in the Olympic village and drove 80 miles to the cross country course at Soldier Hollow. Training started at 7am sharp and they used every hour they could to learn from the other teams and improve Jayaram’s performance. It was not so much a training exercise but more of an intensive learning course to get some basic knowledge of the sport which neither of them knew much about beyond a very basic level.

The French team were particularly helpful and the young Nepali was taken almost as a mascot by them. But the Germans also assisted with equipment and waxing and even the great Ole Bjoerndalen trained alongside him giving him some very useful advice. Everyone in the cross country world was extremely kind to Richard and Jayaram and they both made some wonderful friends during their long days learning the sport at Soldier Hollow.

And then on Valentine’s Day 2002 Jayaram Khadka became the very first Nepalese Winter Olympian when he set out at about 10:30 am to race in the 10 Km Cross Country Classic men’s pursuit. And this time he certainly didn’t finish an hour behind the leaders.

After just one week of solid training together Jayaram was able to finish just 18 minutes behind the winner after an epic duel with Isaac Menyoli from Cameroon which utterly enthralled the grandstand for the last ten minutes of the race. The battle between the two back markers in the sport may have been only to avoid finishing last but as they repeatedly exchanged the lead between them it looked as if they were fighting for a medal.

Jay Khadka, Salt Lake 10km Classic (screen grab)

The battle was captured on huge TV screens before the crowd and both athletes were cheered like heroes as they entered the finish arena virtually neck and neck. Time and again the lead changed between them but in the final 100 meters the Nepali was able to get ahead and sprint to the finish where he collapsed in the arms of his overjoyed trainer – and father of course.

A minute later Isaac crossed the line and collapsed in the arms of Jayaram as they hugged each other in the true Olympic spirit. It was a wonderful moment again and one which was covered in newspapers and TV reports all over the world. Not only had Nepal arrived in the Winter Games but it had brought with it the famous spirit of Shangri-la. Jayaram had shown us all that simply taking part and giving your opponents kindness and respect was the most important aspect of the Olympics. And at the same time he had improved his FIS score by 562 FIS points down to 433 in a single race – possibly a record improvement by any athlete ever in the Olympic Games. It was a fantastic performance by an athlete who had only taken up the sport just 10 weeks before.

And Jayaram’s most favoured event was yet to come. The 1.5 km Freestyle sprint scheduled for 19 February was a new event in the Cross Country calendar and it suited the young Nepali perfectly. A short sharp burst of power was the common trade mark of the Alpine specialist and Jayaram was no slouch in the Giant Slalom. They had also learnt a great deal from the 10km event and Richard was able to develop his training techniques to help Jayaram even more. The training times looked stunning and after three intense days there seemed to be a real chance of actually qualifying for the final. Certainly it looked as if the young athlete was going to beat his best ever Alpine score even though he had spent so little time in Cross Country.

But once again the Civil War interfered with events. On 16/17 February more than 150 soldiers and policemen were massacred by Maoist rebels in the far west of Nepal. It was exactly the military disaster that Richard had warned against in his weekly newspaper column when he criticised the Government for using the Army to fight popular discontent. Worse still Jayaram feared that his first cousin, who was a junior army officer stationed in the district, may have been among the victims. There was an immediate counter attack and unknown numbers of Maoist rebels were gunned down by the Army.

The team was plunged into mourning and the Olympic authorities approved the wearing of traditional black arm bands. Rana had already left Salt Lake City to meet his business associates elsewhere in America but he sent a message to the team prohibiting the use of black arm bands. Tensions were increased but the team complied and the matter was dropped. Nonetheless Jayaram faced his second Olympic race with a subdued spirit.

And then Richard made a terrible mistake.

Without a technician in the team waxing was a very difficult process. Cross country waxing is a highly specialised art which literally makes the difference between success and failure at the top of the sport. Neither Richard nor Jayaram had the experience to choose the right mixtures and layers of wax to produce the best results and they were dependent upon other teams to assist them. So Jayaram simply used un-waxed skis in training runs under the theory that during the race he would do even better. And on the day of the race his skis were prepared by the German team with first class efficiency. They were superbly waxed.

The first Men’s Olympic 1.5km sprint on 19 February was a spectacular event. Every yard of the course could be seen from the grandstand and all the great names of the sport were competing. Jayaram lined up in his heat with some confidence. His training times had been truly excellent and with well waxed skis it seemed possible for him to progress to the final. And he literally flew around the course like a terrier. Richard was watching from the roof of the grandstand with a perfect view and a stop watch to check the times on each 250 meter sector. With two sectors to go his son was lined up to achieve a record score.

But now Richard’s error took effect.

The entry into the finish arena was a short steep slope turning 180 degrees and dropping about 10 meters. As Jayaram hit the turn his skis were running so fast that the speed took him by surprise and the bend was impossible for him to control. He plunged to the ground and the crowd groaned in sadness for him. Valiantly he got to his feet again and tried his heart out to get back on terms with the others. But the frantic effort made him fall again and all hope was lost. He even fell a third time exhausted and disappointed just 50 meters from the finish line. Even so he had actually improved his best ever sprint score and wasn’t far off the mark he had achieved in the 10km event. But Richard was left bitterly regretting that he had not arranged waxed skis for the training runs and everyone wondered just what Jayaram would have achieved had he kept his feet.

And so the games drew to a close. Jayaram and Richard spent the last few days training on the Alpine slopes. The President of Rossignol America personally gave them each a pair of skis and, after trying them out through the Giant Slalom gates just before they were removed after the race, Richard was presented with a National Ski Patrol badge by an American official who was amazed to see the 48 year old take the course so fast. It was a wonderful end to an amazing experience.