By all accounts, -bound Kequyen Lam defies convention.

Born in Macau in 1979 to parents who had fled war-torn North Vietnam, and raised in Abbotsford, Lam admits he was a gifted athlete, but opted to attend UBC in Vancouver and study kinesiology and pharmacology.

Over the past 20 years, the 38-year-old pharmacist has competed at some of the highest levels in snowboard cross and cross-country skiing; written two books; manufactured an B次元官网网址渁bout-to-be-releasedB次元官网网址� line of moustache wax; owned, sold and written about his beloved tiny house; and next month, heB次元官网网址檒l buckle up his ski boots and head to the Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Lam, who is currently based in Vernon, will compete as the sole 15-kilometre cross-country skate skier representing Portugal.

WATCH

Olympic athlete, Kequyen Lam reveals how it felt to learn that he had qualified to compete in the 2018 Winter Games.

His coach made the official announcement Thursday morning at where Lam has been training.

B次元官网网址淜equyenB次元官网网址檚 story to the Games is incredible,B次元官网网址� said Bond.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 has been racing around the world the last two years and training hard to qualify (for the Olympics), and now itB次元官网网址檚 17 days away. Wow, time flies.B次元官网网址�

Naturally, Lam is thrilled at the prospect of taking his talent to the international stage.

And while he knows the pressure is on, he feels itB次元官网网址檚 important to focus on how he got there.

B次元官网网址淚 was born to compete. Training and competing feeds my soul.B次元官网网址� - Kequyen Lam

B次元官网网址淚n 1978 my parents risked it all for our familyB次元官网网址檚 safety,B次元官网网址� Lam explained.

B次元官网网址淚t was a month-long voyage in a rickety, over-capacity sea vessel B次元官网网址� my dad, my mom and my brother B次元官网网址� and every second they were afraid. That boat could have capsized at any moment.B次元官网网址�

Lam said his family was welcomed to Macau, which was a Portuguese territory until 1999, where they lived in a refugee camp. After Lam was born, his family immigrated to Canada and settled in Abbotsford.

He says sports were always a big part of his life, but he didnB次元官网网址檛 pursue a career as an athlete until after he graduated from university and worked in his field.

In 2008, he decided to B次元官网网址渟eriouslyB次元官网网址� pursue snowboard cross, and came close to qualifying for the 2014 Winter Games. But a serious injury he sustained at a training camp in Austria prevented him from getting to Sochi.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a dangerous sport B次元官网网址� I mean, youB次元官网网址檙e going over 60-foot jumps at 70 kilometres an hour. Any small mistake can land you in the hospital. I was living in a state of fear (at the time),B次元官网网址� he recalled.

On the last day of training camp, Lam mistimed a feature and ended up crashing.

B次元官网网址淚 blew out my shoulder. I was devastated, but at the same time it was huge relief because that meant I didnB次元官网网址檛 have to go up and risk my life again.B次元官网网址�

Lam began his recovery, but soon after the B次元官网网址渃ross-country skiing seedB次元官网网址� that had been planted in his head a few years earlier by another athlete B次元官网网址渂egan to take root.

B次元官网网址淚 had been determined to get to Sochi doing snowboard cross, but after I was injured I knew that wouldnB次元官网网址檛 happen, and I accepted that it was meant to be that way B次元官网网址攖hat I wasnB次元官网网址檛 meant to go, but at the same time, I felt like something was missing. I was born to compete. Training and competing feeds my soul. B次元官网网址�

He began training and pursued his other passions B次元官网网址� he built a tiny home in Squamish, which he recently sold. And wrote about the experience in his book, Tiny Home Haikus.

His other book, Into the Mind of an Olympic Athlete, which has been described as B次元官网网址渁n inside look into the experience of being at the starting line of an Olympic event,B次元官网网址� will be available online soon.

Lam gives a tour of his passion project, a tiny house he built in Squamish.

Lam, who says he has also become somewhat of a facial hair enthusiast, recently began manufacturing his own brand of mustache wax called Lamstache. He says itB次元官网网址檚 more of a side project B次元官网网址渇or funB次元官网网址� than a serious business venture, but notes that it will be available on the market this year.

For the time being, Lam says all other projects are on temporary hold while he heads off to the Winter Olympics B次元官网网址攁n experience he says he still canB次元官网网址檛 believe he will finally get.

He credits his parents for much of his success and says he hopes his story will inspire children with parents who are new to Canada, to follow their own dreams, no matter how big.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 the result of what my parents lived through, and the risks that they took. IB次元官网网址檓 an immigrant, my parents are refugees and I couldnB次元官网网址檛 be more proud of that because from that it shows that hard work and dreams that you dream and sacrifice is all worth it in the end.B次元官网网址�

The 2018 Winter Games take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, Feb. 9 to 25.

Erin Christie

Morning Star Staff