The Olympic Games in Sochi are his sixth, he is 55 years old, he is a photographer, pop star and self-proclaimed prince. He plays for Mexico, even though he has no idea about this country, he was just born there. And these are not even the most bizarre facts about the tireless attention seeker Hubertus von Hohenlohe, who was already declared the most interesting Olympian by the American television company NBC!
Hubertus von Hohenlohe he is mexican skier, who has an irresistible desire to attract attention. That's why we also decided to investigate why this athlete is so popular.
1. His ski jerseys are bizarre.
Von Hohenlohe has competed in the Winter Olympics several times bizarre jerseys, but this year he outdid himself. At the slalom race, which will take place on February 22, he will appear dressed in mariachi. Before that, he also put on a jersey Desperate and nasmil in "sensitive" package to send mail. This year I would like to with mine Kappa jersey won the title of the best dressed Olympian.
2. A German prince who knows very little about Mexico.
Hubertus also calls himself prince. His ancestors, dynasty Württemberg, were one of the ruling families in today's Germany, which lost all its power in 1918. However, Von Hohenlohe comes from a wealthy background. His father, the prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe was a businessman, a mother, a princess Ira von Fürstenberg, and a descendant of the family Agnelli, who founded a car company Fiat.
Von Hohenlohe was born in Mexico during his father's business trip, so he also has Mexican citizenship, which he now uses to his advantage. "My family wanted at least one of us to have Mexican citizenship. That's how I decided to be born in Mexico", describes Hubertus, who grew up in Spain, Italy and Austria, and only got to know Mexico a little better when he went there to shoot his documentary.
3. A photographer who likes to take pictures of himself.
In 2005, the skier even organized a photo exhibition called "It's me!” (It's me!) where only he appeared in each photo. Otherwise, he also took photographs Milkina campaign Milka Alpine Beauty, in which there are famous female skiers, including Tina Maze, raised awareness of the importance of preserving endangered plant species in the Alps.
4. He's a pop star.
Since skiing and photography are not enough, Hubertus ventured into singing and performed under the alias "Royal Disaster" and "Andy Himalaya". Under the latter, he released eight albums in Europe.
5. He is the oldest Olympian at this year's Olympics.
“The Snow Prince” turned 55 at the beginning of February and is the oldest Olympian at the Games, and he already held the same title in 2010 in Vancouver. The oldest participant of the Winter Olympics of all time is a Swede Carl August Kronlund, who won silver in curling in 1924 at the age of 58.
Von Hohenlohe does not want the title of the oldest Olympian, so he announces that this year's games will be his last. But we heard the same words from him four years ago. "Perhaps I'll try curling again and take part in another Olympics..." von Hohenlohe still hinted that he hasn't made a final decision yet.
6. He does not expect a high ranking.
"Actually, I don't know why I'm still competing with the world's elite," explains von Hohenlohe. "Now it has become a test of how much I can do", he adds. However, he adds that he also skis so that "the flame of exotic countries does not go out at the Winter Olympics".
7. He founded the Ski Federation of Mexico.
In order to be able to participate in the Olympic Games in Sarajevo, the prince founded the Mexican team in 1981 ski association, which included… him. Nevertheless, his ambition was never to become a top skier. "I didn't want to be a professional, but an amateur. For me, skiing is a kind of gentleman's competition, nothing more," he says. Later, it was this organization that prevented him from participating in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, as they did not want to send a one-man national team to the games. But they still did it in Vancouver and this year in Sochi.
8. The Olympic Games in Sochi are his sixth.
Prince Hubertus von Hohenlohe took part in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1984 Sarajevo, followed by games in Calgary (in 1988), v Albertville (in 1992) and Lillehammer (in 1994). Then, after a 16-year break, he returned in 2010 Vancouver. He achieved the best ranking at the Olympic Games in Sarajevo, when he took first place in the slalom 26th place, also in Sarajevo, he achieved a career result in the downhill, 38th place, which he only repeated in Albertville. His worst ranking at the Olympics was 78th place in the giant slalom in Vancouver.
9. His idols are Warhol and Tomba.
He says that he became interested in art and photography when he met the legendary Andy Warhol. His skiing idol is Alberto Tomba, with whom she is said to be friends.
