Word: menyoli
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TIME: When did you decide to do the Olympics? Menyoli: When I went to Cameroon in 2000. I liked to race but I never expected that I would ski in the Olympics. There was no reason, because it wasn't like I would win an award or anything. But then I went to Cameroon and saw the suffering and it's really terrible out there. People are just so illiterate about the HIV/AIDS problem. They don't accept that it exists. So I thought, I can punish my body, almost like I am sacrificing myself. I want...
TIME: Have you been improving? Menyoli: It's so hard to tell. I can't really tell if I'm improving because skiing on snow is so different. I will only be able to tell in Salt Lake City...
TIME: What kind of support have you had from Cameroon? Menyoli: Only administrative support from the national organization (the NOC). I tried to do this through FIS and they said they don't talk to individuals. The NOC were responsible for getting my code through FIS [the International Ski Federation], which I needed to qualify. My bosses [at his architecture firm in Milwaukee] have been amazing. They have supported me so much. I owe them. Some firms would have just said...
TIME: But how did you make the connection between the Olympics and AIDS education? Menyoli: I had heard about organizations going to Africa, having conferences, talking to people. But the people say, "Aw, AIDS is just a conspiracy." I thought, if I ski, people will say, "Wait, who is this guy?" And if I have that opportunity, I could be in the media and talk over the radio. Then I can tell people that they really have to watch out, that it is serious. After the games, I will go to Cameroon and I'm hoping...
TIME: Have you lost any friends? Menyoli: I have friends who have died, and I suspect AIDS was the case. But the bad thing is that people just say it is a conspiracy. When someone dies, they say, "No, it's witchcraft or voodoo...