Continent’s Olympians treasure Beijing experience

Undaunted by lack of snow at home for training, African athletes relish Winter Games challenge

Athletes who represented Africa in the 2022 Winter Olympics value their experience in Beijing and hope their participation will motivate the next generation of African athletes.

The small delegation of six African athletes saw five of them competing in alpine skiing and 30-year-old Samuel Uduigowme participating in cross-country skiing.

Unlike other parts of the world, training for the Winter Olympics is a challenge in Africa due to the lack of snow.

Despite the challenges, Shannon Abeda from Eritrea braved the heavy snow and icy temperatures on Feb 13 to compete in the men’s giant slalom. Abeda was placed 39th in the race.

Other African skiers were overwhelmed by the treacherous downhill race and could not finish.

Twenty-year-old alpine skier Mialitiana Clerc was the only African woman who competed in the Winter Games.

Born in Madagascar and adopted by a French couple as an infant, Clerc is a two-time Olympian after her debut in the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Clerc thanked her family, friends and fans on Instagram for watching and supporting her as she competed in the Games.

“Really hard, but it was worth it. Thank you Beijing. You are amazing,” Clerc wrote. It was such a good experience, she said, adding that she will learn from it.

“It was not easy for anyone and in the end, everyone experienced an Olympic event.”

Carlos Maeder, 43, was the oldest alpine skier at the Games. Maeder wrote on his Instagram account that the race did not turn out as he expected.

“It still hurts a lot but at the end, I have to accept it, that’s sports especially ski alpine,” he wrote.

“It was a great honor to represent Ghana at the Winter Games and I am very thankful for this amazing experience. This is just the beginning, team Ghana will be back.”

Born in Ghana, Maeder’s mother gave him up for adoption to a Swiss family because she was unable to support him. Though he grew up in Switzerland, he has been in touch with Ghanaian culture and visits his biological family often.

Mathieu Neumuller, 18, blamed the heavy snow and low temperatures for his inability to complete the alpine skiing race.

“Difficult race with really bad weather conditions and unfortunately a retirement for me,” he wrote on Instagram.

African representation at the Winter Olympics was lower this year compared with 2018 when the number of participants was double.

Sabrina Simader, a Kenyan skier, did not manage to participate in this year’s Winter Olympics after failing to secure funds from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.