South African skier Matt Smith on why it's never too late to follow your dream
At 34-years-old, making your international debut as an athlete of all things is almost unheard of, especially in a sport as physically demanding as skiing.
But Johannesburg-born Matt Smith has never been one to sit still and watch the world go by.
From building and selling a successful tech business in Europe to now competing at the World Cross Country Skiing Championship in Norway, Smith prides himself in being actively goal-driven.
The former Cape Town resident now lives in Norway, where he and his wife Cecilie [pronounced as Cecilia] are expecting their first baby together.
Amid all the stress of being a new parent and currently working as an international tech speaker, Smith found the time to get his foot in the door of international skiing, and may also be on his way to the Olympics.
“So I only started skiing two years ago. I lived here in Norway before and had a career here in the media and tech space and built a business around that and then sold the business. I left Norway and did not intend to go back.
“I was thinking of moving back to Norway in 2022. I had been spending the better part of the Cape Tonian summer doing triathlons. I was in Cape Town until May 2022 living as a Cliche capetonian, doing trail runs and anything outdoors. I lived in Spain and Portugal for sometime because of work and then finally made the decision and moved to Norway again.
“I had never been in Norway for winter and when I moved back, I was stumped. Because I was used to our weather back home. I had to either hibernate or lean into it. The way you lean into the winter in Norway is through cross country skiing,” Smith explained.
Around the time he started taking the sport seriously, Smith met a Mexican guy named Alan Corona, who also moved to Norway to ski for his country. Corona’s story of migrating to Norway to pursue his dream was a light bulb moment for ole’ Matt.
“I grew up watching springboks, Bafana Bafana and our national swimmers. The thought of representing South Africa has always been with me. So I always wondered if we had a winter sports team.
“I did some research and found that we only ever sent 11 athletes in 7 winter games and no cross country athletes. I found that there was an open spot for cross country skiing.
“I learnt what I had to do to ski and how to qualify for the cross country and then the Olympics. I spoke to SASCOC and snow sport South Africa. Peter Pills and Sonja from Snow Sport SA are so knowledgeable about the whole thing and really guided me throughout,” Smith said.
“I got in contact with some professional coaches that side. I told them that I’m an average fit guy with an athletic background. Never been a full time athlete but I was motivated. The local coaches said yes it's possible to take up the sport but I had to throw a lot of my time at it,” he added.
Being around 32-years-old at the time, Smith kicked-off a rigorous training and conditioning journey to hopefully make the qualifying times and compete in the Cross Country Skiing discipline.
Smith recalls “throwing the kitchen sink” at cross country skiing.
After competing in mini events, exhibition events and other qualifying tournaments, a 34-year-old Matt Smith finally got a spot at the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway for the 2025 edition.
The start of the year did come with its own scare, however, as Smith blew both of shoulders during training, which put a damper on his spirit to compete.
But his wife has supported and cheered him on, and giving him the occasionally kick in the behind when he needed it.
“My wife is incredibly supportive through everything I do. We have made it work because I train for a lot here in Norway. But it means I am home often so we actually spend a lot of time together. We both have our own businesses here so it works for us.
“Skiing is huge in Norway. It has origins here so people who compete are skiing from the time they are 2 or 3-years-old. We as South Africans are considered as a non-skiing nation,” he said.
His social media presence is quite active, and Smith has since earned himself nicknames like ‘Snow bok’ and ‘Ice Bokke’.
Smith will compete in a 7.5km race on Wednesday and a 1.5km race on Thursday for the Championship, and if he finishes the race within a certain time from the winner, will also qualify for the Olympics.
“There are 144 spots for men in cross country skiing. All big skiing nations get full allocation of 8 athletes. Like the US, Norway, Sweden. This is my opportunity to qualify SA for one spot. It works out based on time difference based on the winner of the race. There is a criteria to meet based on technicality. I need to come in within five minutes of the winner to qualify for the Olympics,” Smith said.