Ornella Oettl Reyes

Ornella Oettl Reyes (born December 14, 1991 in Germany) is an alpine skier born in Germany to a Peruvian mother who has competed on behalf of Peru since 2010. Her first competition event was in the 2006 German national race, where she disqualified in the Slalom and did not finish the Giant Slalom. She has competed since then in a variety of alpine skiing events, including the slalom, giant slalom, downhill, and super combined, at a number of junior international competitions, although she is listed by the International Ski Federation as having not finished more than half of the races she has entered. As of February, 2010, her best finish in any competition was 2nd, at a giant slalom event in Germany.[1]

Oettl Reyes was selected at the age of 18 to be one of three members of Peru's delegation to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, the first Peruvian team to participate in the Winter Olympics. Her younger brother Manfred Oettl Reyes, also an alpine skier, was selected for the team as well.[2] She is scheduled to compete in both the slalom and giant slalom competitions there,[3] although she was not expected to be in serious competition for a medal. Her participation on behalf of Peru was questioned by some, as she was not only born in Germany but lives there and is of Peruvian descent on only one side of her family. She and her brother were last minute additions to the Olympic roster. They both met the minimum time qualifications for participation, but that participation was questioned as neither had taken part in a World Championship prior to the Olympics. In response to this criticism, the Peruvian Olympic Committee explained that they were in the process of receiving their Peruvian passports when the last World Championships took place, and so could not yet compete on behalf of Peru. The controversy also prompted some commenters to question why the Peruvian government has not done more to identify and develop athletes within the country. However, the practice of smaller countries sending athletes who are technically citizens of those countries but who reside elsewhere to participate in international competitions is not uncommon. Despite the controversy, the pair asked Peruvians to embrace them and their participation on behalf of Peru at the Olympics.[4]