Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie (pronounced DAHL-ee) placed first in the men’s 10km classic at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
He held off going to the medal ceremony, though, until Kenyan skier Philip Boit — a former middle-distance runner who, after switching sports, became the very first Kenyan to compete at the Winter Games — crossed the finish line in last place, twenty minutes later.
Philip Boit welcomed his first child, a baby boy, just weeks after the Olympics. The baby’s name? Daehlie, after Bjørn Dæhlie. As Boit explained,
All my friends and family said he had to be a very good-hearted man because he waited for me in Nagano, and that I should keep his name in my family.
Philip Boit went on to have three more children: Olympia, Faith, and Alex.
P.S. Philip Boit’s uncle, middle-distance runner Mike Boit, competed alongside Kipchoge Keino at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
Sources:
- Savage, Maddy. “Philip Boit and Bjorn Daehlie: Cross-country friends.” BBC News 24 Jan. 2014.
- “Philip Boit, Kenya’s first Winter Olympian.” Olympics.com 11 Dec. 2017.
- Say How? – National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress
Image: Screenshot of the 1998 Winter Olympics
