ANTERSELVA, ITALY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Having spent years counting down to his big moment, Sondre Slettemark will follow in the proud footsteps of his father Oystein and big sister Ukaleq when he makes his Olympic debut in the men's 20km individual biathlon race on Tuesday.
Like his elder sister, the younger Slettemark was born in Greenland but as the country has no Olympic committee of its own, they compete for the Commonwealth of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands at the Games, and for Sondre, a long wait is nearly over.
"This is an Olympics that I've been looking forward to for many years - from five or six years ago, I started counting on my fingers, '2026, I'm 21 years old. I have a possibility of qualifying'," he said on the eve of his first race at the Milano Cortina Games.
"So, it's really great to finally be here and be ready for the Olympics. It's the biggest sporting event any athlete could dream of competing in."
Earlier in the year, the siblings spoke out about U.S. president Donald Trump's plans to take over Greenland, but they have since decided that they would prefer to focus on their pride at representing their people at the Games, rather than politics.
He and Ukaleq, who is three years older, normally make up the entire team fielded by the Greenland Biathlon Federation, making it very much a family affair - the federation was started by their mother Uiloq, and their dad also plays an active part in their careers.
Despite his Norwegian-sounding name, father Oystein was actually born in Brazil, eventually ending up in Greenland, meeting and marrying Uiloq and going on to represent Denmark in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Daughter Ukaleq made her Olympic debut at the Beijing Games four years ago and will compete again in Milano Cortina, and the older members will gather at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena on Tuesday to see Sondre join the ranks of the family's Olympians.
"Having my mum and my dad and my sister with me here, it's extra special," Sondre said.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
