Famous Seamus going all out in ancestors’ backyard

Just a few hours north of Sochi is the city of Maykop, where Seamus O’Connor’s maternal grandparents were born.

Ever since the Russian resort was awarded the 2014 Winter Games, it seemed fated he’d be part of it. O’Connor was nine when the announcement was made, but he was already a prodigious talent, dubbed ‘Famous Seamus’ by the snowboarding community across North America. The boy wonder from San Diego with the Irish name would be heading to his ancestors’ backyard to fulfil an Olympic dream.

It wasn’t a fanciful notion.