They say African people don’t like water. That is why when it comes to the Summer Olympics, you won’t see us in the water sports. When it comes to Winter Olympics, the chance of us competing is slim. The 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team (think Cool Runnings) defied that theory at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. And now, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong from Ghana has followed in the footsteps of the Jamaican Bobsled Team. Also known as ‘The Snow Leopard’, 35 year-old Nkrumanh-Acheampong is the first person from Ghana to ever take part in the Winter Olympics at the 2010 Games held in Vancouver, Canada. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in Glasgow, Scotland. As a child he moved away to Ghana. In 2000, he moved to England and landed a job as a receptionist at the Xscape Skiing Centre in Milton Keynes. And that is where his skiing journey began. He eventually hired his own coaches and staff and was training in places like Italy and France. His quest for the Olympics was on a roll!!! In 2005, Nkrumah-Acheampong tried to qualify in the Men’s Slalom for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Unfortunately his flight was grounded and he was unable to arrive at the qualifying stages. In 2009 he successfully qualified for the 2010 games scoring within the International Ski Federation points. His goal was not to finish in last place and make himself, his coach, family and fans proud. He surely achieved that by finishing a respectable 53rd out of 54.
I admire his determination to go to the games. All the odds were against him, yet he never gave up. His skiing run has not stopped at the 2010 Winter games!!! Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong has secured Government support to build Ghana’s first artificial ski slope in the Akuapem Hills before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. I think he deserves some sort of medal or award for his passion, perseverance and his push to create a snow craze in Ghana and encouraging people to follow their dreams even if people think it is impossible.
BIG UPS to THE SNOW LEOPARD!!!!
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