Roberto Carcelen didn’t learn how to ski until he was 36 but when he did, he took it all the way.
After a few years of tireless practice, Carcelen became the first Peruvian in the country’s history to qualify for the Winter Olympics.
He competed in 2010 but perhaps the most notably in 2014 when he finished his cross-country race in last place carrying a Peruvian flag while battling a rib injury.
The injury wasn’t Carcelen’s last setback, a year after Sochi he says he noticed something odd, a foot tremor that only worsened with time. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in March.
Carcelen explains: "I had two options. One was hide or the other one was to make it public and try to raise awareness on my condition.”
Instead of giving up, he expanded the mission of his foundation to include helping others with Parkinson’s disease through research.
And despite being thousands of miles away from snow, the Palm Beach County Olympian, wants to try and make history again.
“Now the journey is to back from retirement to try and qualify for the 2020 Olympics,” says Carcelen.
To find out more about Carcelen’s foundation, click here.
