Answer the following question: Facts:   - sport: alpine skiing    - birth name: laurence thoms    - country: fiji      - birth date: 26 march 1980    - name: laurence thoms    - nationality: fijian    - birth place: suva , dominion of fiji   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of laurence thoms .
Answer:
laurence thoms -lrb- born march 26 , 1980 -rrb- is a fijian alpine skier who was born in suva .he represented fiji at the 2002 winter olympics in salt lake city , and attracted media attention as a competitor from a tropical nation at the winter olympics .thoms was fiji 's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony , being his country 's only representative , and was the first pacific islander to qualify for the winter games in his own right -lrb- rather than through the wild cards process -rrb- .he competed in the slalom and giant slalom events .he failed to complete the slalom , but completed the giant slalom and finished fifty-fifth with a time of 2:41.98 .spectators reportedly cheered and encouraged him , and `` went crazy when he crossed the finish line '' .one newspaper described thoms ' participation as exemplifying `` the true spirit of the games '' .before taking part in the olympics , thoms had worked as a ski instructor in new zealand .his participation in the olympics was funded by a retired swiss businessman living in fiji , who had founded the fiji alpine ski association .