Matt Smith proud to represent South Africa in his debut at Winter Olympics

Matt Smith is representing South Africa in cross-country skiing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. But just four years ago, even he couldn't fathom the idea of soon becoming an Olympian. The 35-year-old sat down with CGTN's Dan Williams to share his story.

Smith revealed that he turned to winter sports after meeting a Mexican cross-country skier in Norway about three years ago.

"He was my inspiration, because you can't be what you can't see," Smith said. "I saw him. Thought to myself, well, why can't I do that for South Africa? Few things along the journey there, and three years later, from zero to Olympian in three years."

After picking up skiing in his 30s, Smith had to overcome a series of obstacles, spending a lot of time and effort to understand that the most burdensome fears sometimes come from within.

"The biggest hurdle was fear actually, realizing that fear is internal, not actually you're seeing a saber-toothed tiger," Smith recalled. "So realizing that forcing myself through that fear was the biggest hurdle initially and that's where I really began forcing that learning, not curve, but definitely learning cliff."

The 32-year-old hopes his journey can inspire more South Africans to take up winter sports and keep breaking barriers, regardless of his results at Milano Cortina 2026.

"One thing I will say, which is a big lesson, we've all heard the anecdote," Smith noted. "You know, it's not about the goal, it's about the journey. But I'll add something to that, it's about what you make of the journey. And I've been very active in making something of the journey, specifically my brand values, to educate, to entertain and to inspire."