| Pakistan at the 2014 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | PAK |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of Pakistan |
| Website | nocpakistan |
| inSochi | |
| Competitors | 1 in 1 sport |
| Flag bearer (opening) | Muhammad Karim |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Muhammad Karim |
| Medals |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Pakistan competed at the2014 Winter Olympics inSochi,Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. Pakistan's team consisted of one athlete in alpine skiing. The country competed for the second consecutive Winter Games, after making its debut four years earlier inVancouver. The flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies was Pakistan's sole athleteMuhammad Karim.
The2014 Winter Olympics marked the first time that Pakistani athlete competed in Russia as Pakistan and 63 other western nations participated at theAmerican-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics inMoscow because of theSoviet-Afghan war.
The first ski resort in Pakistan was opened in 1958, in theNaltar Valley. It was originally for air force pilots to train, but later opened up to civilians. TheSki Federation of Pakistan was founded in 1990.[1] The2010 Olympic Games was Pakistan's debut at theWinter Olympics. sending one athlete to compete in the giant slalom. They first participated at theSummer Olympics in the1948 Games, and won their first Summer Olympics medal in 1956.[2][3]
The Pakistan Ski Federation feared their qualified athlete might not be able to compete at the Games, due to the continuing conflict between thePakistan Olympic Association and thePakistani Government. TheInternational Olympic Committee had given a deadline of January 2014 for both sides to solve their dispute.[4] The issues were solved and the country did compete as scheduled.[5]
The flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies was Pakistan's sole athleteMuhammad Karim.[6][7]
Pakistan qualified one athlete for alpine skiing,Muhammad Karim. Pakistan's first winter OlympianMuhammad Abbas also traveled to the Games as a backup.[5] Karim had less than the maximum 140 points needed to qualify for the B qualification standard, a requirement set by theFederation Internationale de Ski (FIS).[8] Abbas and skierMir Nawaz also qualified for the Olympics, but the Ski Federation of Pakistan elected to send the best of the three to compete, since they could only send one male athlete that qualified with the B qualification standard.[9][10]Muhammad Karim became the second ever athlete to represent the country at theWinter Olympics.[11] Karim managed to improve the country's placement in thegiant slalom from four years prior by finishing in 71st place (among 72 athletes that finished the race).[12][13]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Muhammad Karim[4][5] | Men's giant slalom | 1:43.44 | 77 | 1:43.97 | 71 | 3:27.41 | 71 |
