Venezuelan alpine skier Antonio Pardo made one of the biggest splashes at the opening ceremonies in Sochi with his enthusiastic entrance.

He boogied with the national flag and showed off his best dance moves to the delight of 40,000 people inside the Olympic stadium and billions more around the world.

Social media was abuzz with Pardo’s performance, noting that he skipped and sprinted down the stage carrying the national team’s flag.

“The Venezuelan athlete is the greatest and I am absolutely cheering for him,” one person tweeted.

Pardo, who is from Caracas, is the only athlete from Venezuela at Sochi.

The 43-year-old began skiing recreationally in 1988 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He started racing in 2011 in Solden, Austria.

He began taking part in official ski races only recently after becoming unemployed in the financial industry. He lists his occupation as banker.

Fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, he is also the president of the Venezuelan Ski Federation.

Pardo’s sporting philosophy is “do it because you love it.”

Venezuela made its Olympic Winter Games debut in Nagano in 1998 when luge athlete Iginia Boccalandro competed in the women's singles event. She competed again four years later in Salt Lake City.

Note - February 14, 2014: This article was edited from a previous version that included incorrect information from the Sochi2014 site that said Antonio Pardo had been diagnosed with a brain tumour at age 8 and underwent surgery that left him paralyzed on the left side.

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