Robel Teklemariam was 35 years old at the time of the Vancouver Olympics. He trained for the Olympics by roller skiing in the streets of Addis Ababa. He said his goal for the Vancouver Games was "to improve on his performance from Italy and to inspire young Ethiopians to follow in his ski tracks." He was entered into a single event, the 15 kilometre freestyle. In the race, held on 15 February 2010, he finished with a time of 45 minutes and 18 seconds, nearly 12 minutes off the gold-medal winning time. He finished in 93rd place, out of 95 competitors who finished the race.